


Storm Hawks Fan 3rd Season

by 123leyang321



Series: Fan Storm Hawks Season 3 Series [1]
Category: Storm Hawks
Genre: 3rd season, Action, Action/Adventure, Adventure, Atmos - Freeform, Backstory, Bonding, Canon Backstory, Canon Continuation, Cool, Dogfight - Freeform, Epic Battles, Episode 53, Family, Fantasy, Far Side, Flying, Freedom Fighters, Friendship, Fun, Funny, Gen, Guardian - Freeform, Heartwarming, Humor, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Loss of Parent(s), Love, Magic, Mixed Martial Arts, Origins, Post-Canon, Pre-Canon, Prophecy, Quests, Science Fiction, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Season 3, Ship Tease, Spiritual, Storm Hawks Season 3, Suspense, Swordfighting, Team Bonding, Team as Family, Teamwork, Third season, aerial stunts, crystal mage, dragon - Freeform, helix - Freeform, kingdom - Freeform, master - Freeform, reign - Freeform, season three, sharpshooter, skimmer - Freeform, sky knight, stunts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2009-12-05
Updated: 2019-02-21
Packaged: 2019-03-17 17:30:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 48
Words: 219,809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13663854
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/123leyang321/pseuds/123leyang321
Summary: My fanmade Storm Hawks Third Season.OVERALL PROGRESS: 10 (ep 62) out of 26 (ep 78) episodes done.CURRENTLY WRITING: episode 63 (parts 1, 2, 3 and 4).Join the squadron as they venture in the Far Side on their mission to stop Master Cyclonis once and for all. They'll meet new allies, enemies, and explore new places, while also going through their biggest adventure yet.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> **NOTICE - OCT/2018:** updated this chapter to make things easier to understand.
> 
> **Overall Progress:** 10 (ep 62) out of 26 (ep 78) episodes done.  
>  **NEXT EPISODE:** episode 63 (parts 1, 2, 3 and 4).
> 
> **[Playlist](http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnQCJPZjp28VT61NzV0ShkC7cway2AmFX) on YouTube.**
> 
> **DeviantART[group](https://www.deviantart.com/shf3rds).**
> 
> There you can find all the info about this fanfiction: polls, announcements, OC profiles, videos, concept art, fan art, etc. And even works from other writers that are also writing their own Storm Hawks fan made 3rd Seasons.
> 
> * * *
> 
> **IMPORTANT:** So, how do I read this story anyways?  
>  Well, here's a guide, since **it is NOT** as simple as **reading ONLY the very last chapter whenever it updates.**
> 
>  **1.** I upload **1 entire episode per update**. Occasionally 2 (like I did with eps 61 and 62), but it'll be rare.
> 
>  **2.** Since  1 episode is very long, I divide it in 4 parts. Occasionally 5 parts, like with ep 62.
> 
>  **3.** In this story,  1 part is 1 chapter. So that means **1 episode is 4 chapters**. Occasionally 5 chapters, like with ep 62.
> 
>  **4.** This means that **when I update** the story, you must **read the last 4 chapters**. Occasionally the last 5 chapters. If I upload 2 episodes at once, you'll have to read the last 8 chapters (or in the case of eps 61 and 62, the last 9 chapters, since ep 62 was 5 chapters long).
> 
>  **5.** You'll notice that  in the chapter list I name each chapter as "Episode (insert number) - Part (insert number)". This was done to make it easy to see how many chapters long each episode is.
> 
>  **6.** To make things easier, I now added a  "NEXT EPISODE" segment in the beginning of this chapter, and I'll add it to the end of each episode from now own (I'll update the older episodes as well). That segment will indicate the number of the new episode and the amount of parts it'll have. If in the middle of the writing I find out the episode will have 5 parts instead of 4, I'll update it. I also added the number of parts of each uploaded episode in the episodes summaries.
> 
>  **7.** If you still have any doubts, ask away!

**Episodes Summaries:**

**Episode 53 (4 parts):**  
_The Storm Hawks arrive in the Far Side, meet new allies and discover new places. But when Cyclonis starts planning her vengeance using her nearly endless resources, our heroes will have to get upgrades to fight on her level. Can they save their new allies from her wrath?_  
Themes: adventure, friendship, legends/myths, alliances, quest

**Episode 54 (4 parts):**  
_The Storm Hawks get lost in a huge swamp and, after being rescued by the natives, they find out Aerrow and Piper's perfect attunement is much more than meets the eye. When trust issues rise between the two, can they sort their problems out to protect the natives from a Cyclonian invasion?_  
Themes: suspense, friendship, bonding, spiritual, action

**Episode 55 (4 parts):**  
_Our heroes meet the Grandmaster in Techne Reign, a very hi-tech place, and start some special training courses with her to learn some new tricks. With Stork's new found knowledge as a tech expert, can he stop a Night Crawler sent to hack and destroy all the systems of the reign?_  
Themes: chase, humor, action, adventure, mystery, material loss

**Episode 56 (4 parts):**  
_While gathering allies for their war effort, the Storm Hawks meet a pirate captain named Jake who helps them recruit the aid of a faction of outlaws. Still scarred over his last run in with Carver, Aerrow grows an instant disliking towards Jake. Can he put that aside in order to work with him to protect both their teams from a huge storm?_  
Themes: mistrust, jealousy, prejudice, humility, camaraderie, leadership, adventure

**Episode 57 (4 parts):**  
_The Condor's engine is harmed and the squadron stops in a mysterious wasteland for repairs. When strange weather changes start happening, can they figure out what is going on in that place to help the native creatures that live there?_  
Themes: mystery, suspense, humor, charity, adventure

**Episode 58 (4 parts):**  
_While stopping by an information broker for some useful news, the Storm Hawks find themselves chasing the trail of an old acquaintance of the Grandmaster, a merb scientist, who was supposedly dead. When they find clues that things aren't what they appear, can they reach the scientist before Cyclonis gets him in her clutches?_  
Themes: conspiracy, betrayal, philosophy, dark, mystery, drama, suspense, adventure

**Episode 59 (4 parts):**  
_Aerrow and Piper travel to a trainer in order to master the new abilities they gained from their perfect attunement, while the others stay behind and train with the Grandmaster. When things go terribly wrong in their new training, can the two fix their mistake before it becomes irreversible?_  
Themes: redemption, bonding, friendship, spiritual, humor, action

**Episode 60 (4 parts):**  
_The Storm Hawks run into Domiwick and take him, along with a powerful crystal, as prisoner to interrogate him. As they learn from him about his affiliation with Cyclonis and her new plans, can they get all the info they need before the Night Crawlers swarm the Condor to take both back?_  
Themes: friendship, drama, promises, action, revenge, suspense

**Episode 61 (4 parts):**  
_Cyclonis uses many resources to try to regain one powerful and loyal ally. Can the Storm Hawks thwart her plans before their old enemy is brought back?_  
Themes: action, adventure, dark, suspense, mystery, revenge, comeback

**Episode 62 (5 parts):**  
_When Aerrow was little, his home terra was attacked and he received the call to his destiny. After eventually meeting Radarr, Finn and Piper, can these children broken by the war work together to survive and finally set on their journey?_  
Themes: drama, adventure, loss, family, friendship, love, spiritual, visions, quest, destiny

**Episode 63 (? parts):**  
_Coming soon_  
Themes: coming soon

**Episode 64 (? parts):**  
_Coming soon_  
Themes: coming soon

**Episode 65 (? parts):**  
_Coming soon_  
Themes: coming soon

**Episode 66 (? parts):**  
_Coming soon_  
Themes: coming soon

**Episode 67 (? parts):**  
_Coming soon_  
Themes: coming soon

**Episode 68 (? parts):**  
_Coming soon_  
Themes: coming soon

**Episode 69 (? parts):**  
_Coming soon_  
Themes: coming soon

**Episode 70 (? parts):**  
_Coming soon_  
Themes: coming soon

**Episode 71 (? parts):**  
_Coming soon_  
Themes: coming soon

**Episode 72 (? parts):**  
_Coming soon_  
Themes: coming soon

**Episode 73 (? parts):**  
_Coming soon_  
Themes: coming soon

**Episode 74 (? parts):**  
_Coming soon_  
Themes: coming soon

**Episode 75 (? parts):**  
_Coming soon_  
Themes: coming soon

**Episode 76 (? parts):**  
_Coming soon_  
Themes: coming soon

**Episode 77 (? parts):**  
_Coming soon_  
Themes: coming soon

**Episode 78 (? parts):**  
_Coming soon_  
Themes: coming soon

 

* * *

 

**Prologue**

This part will eventually be updated with an intro, like the cartoon itself had an opening.

* * *

 

_And now moving on to the story._

**FIRST EPISODE:**

**Episode 53** (parts 1, 2, 3 and 4)


	2. Episode 53 - Part 1

   **Episode 53 - Warriors From Affair **

 

 

 

**Part 1 - The Legend**

Cyclonis was in an unknown place, walking towards a kind of castle, with several lights, a huge place that, despite being in that dimension, the Far Side, which had superior technology compared to the rest of Atmos, seemed to be a rustic building. She was a bit worn off: she had just arrived after a terrible defeat and had lost her right hand man, the Dark Ace.

"That wasn't the end." - she said as the memory she had of her terra falling to the Wastelands quickly passed by her mind - "It was just the beginning..." - she stood for a few seconds in front of the castle's gate - "...of my revenge!" - her voice was changed, she then entered the great gateway as the sound of lightning echoed through the whole place...

* * *

A vast landscape composed by several shinny stalagmites, a green surrealistic sky and a huge tower in the center could be observed by the crew of a lone Condor flying without a course. The ship moved quietly through the huge stalagmites coming from the ground, the breeze beating against its hull. The faint sound of winged creatures gliding in the distance could be heard. The noise of a door opening broke the foreign harmony: Stork appeared on the bridge to look at the window and sat in the pilot's seat.

The large room filled with pipes had Junko watching over them, in case they needed any maintenance, Finn walking by the cannons every now and then so he'd be ready whenever he was needed to blast something, and Piper by the round table, trying to piece together the few drawings she had made to create a map of the area, but she wasn't being successful. Soon steps could be heard and Aerrow entered the bridge with Radarr on his shoulder.

"Radarr and I can't find anything in the sky. No stars, only northern lights that lead to nowhere." - the sky knight sighed - "Any luck, you guys?" - he asked as Radarr leaped off his shoulder.

"The Condor's navigation systems are offline, we can't pinpoint our location at all." - the merb said.

"So you mean this place is like the Great Expanse?" - the leader frowned a little dismayed, since his last memories of it weren't very pleasing.

"No. The compass didn't go crazy like when we were there, it just stopped working." - the pilot shook his head - "No matter which direction I turn the ship to, the needle remains still. It doesn't point to the north or any direction. And we're too far from Terra Glockenchime to receive our coordinates from the Timepulse." - he showed the state of the controls, then stared at the front window again - "I think the Great Expanse wasn't too bad. At least we knew what to expect from there. Here we're just out in the unknown and completely vulnerable, just awaiting our inevitable doom." - he said that way too calmly and that creeped everyone out, so Aerrow took a step away from him.

"Piper, have you figured out a map?" - he asked her, hoping to receive less grim news.

"Everything looks almost the same, I don't see reference points anywhere, aside from that huge tower, so if we ever lose sight of it, we'll be completely lost." - she lowered her head in defeat - "It's useless... I'm sorry, Aerrow. I think I'm out as the team's navigator." - she briefly stared at him, her eyes filled with sadness.

"Piper..." - he frowned and followed her movement with his head as she walked away from the table and went outside. He felt he should cheer her up, so he went after her.

As he stepped on the balcony, he noticed it was slightly colder in the Far Side than it was in Atmos and the breeze was also a bit stronger, almost like a gust of wind, instead of the soft current of air he was used to, but that'd just make him want to explore those new skies even more, after all, he always loved a challenge. The crystal mage was standing a few meters away from him, her arms resting on the handrails. She noticed his presence and just sighed, while staring at the huge tower in front of them. The sky knight walked to her and assumed the same stance as her right beside her.

"Are you okay?" - he started.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just... A moment ago I could do everything to help, and now none of my skills mean anything!" - she confessed rather vexed as her torso moved away from the handrails - "I'm totally useless now, you guys have more than enough fighters already, I don't have anything else to offer to the team... I'm so... I'm so..."

"Frustrated." - Aerrow completed the phrase for her while she just stood there staring at him speechless as if waiting for him to continue his line of thought - "I felt that way too, Piper, when we got turned down by the Council just because they said we were too young to be an official squadron."

"Really? Because you surely didn't sound like you were any upset, Aerrow." - she perked a slightly skeptical smile as she leaned against the handrails again.

"Yeah. As a leader I must always put my team before myself."

"So you'll hide how you're actually feeling for our sake?" - she said almost in disbelief - "Don't do that, Aerrow, remember your team's looking out for you too."

"I know that, and you should keep that in mind too, Piper." - he told her, trying to get her to talk whenever she wasn't okay, and she got the message, since she turned to look downwards - "But it's not a matter of hiding my feelings, I do tell you guys when I'm worried about something. I feared the Council's denial would drive us all apart, but that didn't happen, we actually strengthened our friendship even more. I was afraid for no reason. And I realized we didn't have to be official to do good around the Atmos. Even though it seemed like they didn't want us as a team, they still needed us." - he looked at her while speaking the last part.

She smiled softly at the last remark, knowing very well how much it was true.

"You're right. I'm being so silly! Sooner or later my help will come in handy. And I'll be there whenever you need me." - she said as he grinned, glad that he had cheered her up - "Thanks, Aerrow, you can count on me anytime." - she saluted him with respect, and he nodded.

They stood there watching the sky for a moment, until a question passed by Aerrow's mind.

"Piper, how have you been so far?" - that question made the girl stare at him with a raised eyebrow - "It's been a while since we last talked like this, and I wanna know how you're feeling after all you went through these last weeks." - there was some concern in his voice.

"I'm okay, Aerrow. Great, actually." - she reassured him once again, then studied herself - "I'm not even feeling sick anymore. Since you healed me, I've felt good as new, even better!" - she grinned at him.

"Glad to hear it." - he said, returning her smile.

He was intrigued, though, because he had no idea of what had happened. It was a good thing, but if he knew why did that happen, he could try to do the same thing again, in case something wrong happened to Piper. What made it all even more intriguing was what Cyclonis had said. The memory was quickly played on his mind: _'Only a perfect attunement can let the Binding go both ways!'_ What did she mean by that?

"Hmm..." - he muttered.

"What's it?" - she asked curiously, he was quite pensive at the moment, but hard to read.

"I was wondering..." - he started - "Have you figured out what is this 'perfect attu..." - he was interrupted by a weird, loud and extremely high pitched sound.

Everyone had their hands covering their ears until the sound ceased.

"Dude, what was that noise?" - Finn could be heard from inside the bridge slowly removing his hands from his ears as Junko and Stork approached the window in front of him.

The wallop shrugged and Radarr walked outside to join Aerrow and Piper as both the sky knight and the crystal mage stared towards something that caught their attention. A light coming from behind a stalagmite was approaching the ship. Everyone had their eyes shielded, because the light was too intense, once it dimmed a little, Junko spoke up.

"What is that thing?" - he squinted his eyes.

Finn pulled the periscope down and observed.

"Well, just another thing to add to my never ending list of things I've never seen before." - the sharpshooter said nonchalantly, that was becoming a new trend in the Far Side.

The source of that strange light began to take shape as it came near the Condor: large bright blue eyes appeared, it had a winged and scaly body. Its scales were beautiful, they looked like black diamonds. It had long and thick legs and a long tail. It seemed to be a kind of dragon, but it had blue fins on the tip of the tail and the wings were made of a skin similar to that of the caudal fins. Its neck was slightly stretched, its head was big with two spiky horns on the top and a pointy mouth filled with white sharp teeth, and its nose was like that of a typical wallop. From its mouth a dim blue light came out, but they could see a bit gagging the creature and reins.

"Look!" - Piper pointed at it, drawing the others' attention to someone riding the exotic beast as Radarr leaped on the handrail and stood there between the girl and Aerrow.

The rider was female, she had humanoid appearance, with some peculiarities: her skin was slightly purple, she had nails that grew and formed small claws on the tips of her thin fingers, her piercing eyes had rose irises and black sclera, her limbs were proportional to those of a common person, but they could stretch a little, beyond human limits, her body was slender, though they could tell it was slightly more built than that of an ordinary 14 years-old girl. Her black hair with pink tips was tied into two short braids that rested on her shoulders. She wore a short skin-tight metallic purple dress, dark gray pants almost completely covered by her long black boots, pink fingerless gloves, a violet vest which revealed her arms a large violet belt around her hips and two colored ribbons braided together with her hair.

The mysterious rider guided the creature to the hangar and landed there. Radarr jumped from the handrail and landed in front of the foreign pair.

"Radarr!" - Aerrow was alarmed by the sudden reaction, then he stared at Piper - "Let's go!" - he ran from the balcony and went inside the ship, his navigator following close behind. He didn't know if those two could mean potential danger.

Within seconds the rest of the Storm Hawks got to the hangar, all ready to start combat. The foreign girl looked at them one by one: Aerrow had his blades activated, Finn had his crossbow aiming at her, Junko had his knuckle busters lit, Stork was standing rather guardedly behind everyone, Piper was armed with her staff and was holding a green crystal on her free hand. The lilac girl took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a second, then she let out her breath and all of the Storm Hawks weapons, but Piper's green crystal, simply deactivated as if they had no more energy left. They watched her with caution, their faces showing they weren't pleased with that action.

She dismounted from the dragon-like creature and slowly kneeled as Radarr carefully approached her. Surprising all of the other Storm Hawks members, she leaned her torso forward, bent her head down and reached her arms forward slightly, the palms of her hands facing the sky, in other words, her stance looked like a kind of reverence. Radarr sniffed her hands then chirped happily: he didn't sense any danger coming from her, she was friendly after all! The Storm Hawks watched with relief as the girl slowly sat and briefly petted Radarr.

The strange girl noticed the crystal Piper was holding, so she lifted her long arm and drew the crystal to her hand. Everyone was static, except for Radarr, who just observed curiously. The girl stared deeply at the crystal and realized it was a Binding Crystal.

"Are you a crystal mage?" – she asked, looking at the blue-haired girl curiously.

"Ah... Yes." - Piper said nodding - "How did you guess?"

"Only really powerful crystal mages can unlock the powers of the Binding Crystal." - she stood up - "My name is Henny, and this is Orion." - she introduced herself and her dragon-like partner, then she raised her hand, making a semicircular move and the squadron's weapons came back to normal - "I'm sorry for startling you." - she said as she returned Piper's green crystal - "That's just my people's defense mechanism." - she smiled sheepishly, while the Storm Hawks were amazed by her ability - "I see you're not from here. Who are you?"

"We're the Storm Hawks. I'm Aerrow and these are Piper, Radarr, Finn, Junko and Stork. We came from the Atmos through a portal." - the squad leader said, gesturing to each of his squad mates.

"Affairs from Atmos? So what the Elders tell us is true!" - the lilac girl said.

"What do you mean?" - the navigator asked.

"You see, there's this legend..." - she started.

* * *

"When the darkness strikes the Greatland..."

_The Far Side can be seen from the sky, as a huge shadow prevents the light from illuminating the land. The tall bright tower in the middle ceases shining. Several flying creatures fall from the sky, dead. A huge swarm of Night Crawlers darkens even more the sky. The deadly beasts lurking in the darkest places emerge from their nests and cause havoc everywhere._

"...and each reign makes its last stand..."

_An army of armored individuals that looked similar to Henny stands in front of a huge gate, the entrance to their reign, in an attempt to protect their people from the evil force. But they're seriously outnumbered._

"...Atmos's greatest warriors will be sent..."

_Through the portal, six figures enter the Far Side, flying fast in the skies. There's a woman holding two crystals, a man with two twin swords, another man with a crossbow, a bigger figure with shining fists, a tall and skinny figure with no visible weapon and a small creature. Their expressions or clothes can't be seen, they are silhouettes._

"...to fight fiercely and put to chaos an end."

_The six warriors can be seen fighting off the evil army. The crystal mage was imbuing the man with the twin swords with crystal energy, and he defeated several Night Crawlers, while the woman created a shield to protect herself from a huge beast. The beast was being taken down by the big figure with shining fists, while shots coming at him were being deflected by the arrow's of the other man's crossbow. The tall and skinny figure was using a weird mechanic suit created by him to protect the wingman, and the small creature was scaring a huge beast away from the battle._

* * *

"Well... You must be the legendary warriors." - she concluded.

"Oh, I knew I was good! My fame even got to the Far Side!" - Finn passed his hand by his hair, trying to look charming. Piper just shook her head at that then shared a quick glance with Aerrow.

"'The Far Side?'" - the lilac girl was confused.

"This is what everyone in the Atmos says here is called." - Junko explained.

"Oh, really? That's a funny name." - she giggled - "But the actual name of this place is The Greatland, because, well, you know, it's pretty huge." - she shrugged.

"You said the word 'reign' in the legend." - Piper commented, then put a hand on her chin to think - "So if the Far Side is called 'The Greatland', I guess the 'reigns' would be the terras then?" - she made a gesture with the same hand.

"What's a 'terra'?" - the foreign girl didn't understand the question.

"Terras are mountaintop civilizations in the Atmos, scattered around a huge place full of lava called the Wastelands. We use several kinds of ships, like this one, and skimmers, like the ones over there, to go from one terra to another." - the navigator explained as she pointed at the objects she referred to.

"Also, each terra is protected by a sky knight squadron, like the Rex Guardians in Terra Rex. But the Storm Hawks are different. We don't watch over just one terra, we protect all the Atmos." - Aerrow said, gesturing to the vast landscape to emphasize his point about guarding the world as a whole.

"Wow! That's so cool!" - Henny was astonished - "I know it might sound stupid, but I never knew there was life like that in the Atmos."

"You mean, you've never heard of anything from there? You have no clue at all about all the horrible diseases, poisonous creatures and deadly places?!" - Stork started poking his head forward, his face was so close to hers that she leaned backwards slightly, his eye twitched a bit by the end of his speech, then suddenly he assumed his normal stance and took several bottles from his pocket - "Well, here is the lamprey fly repellent, scarletma razor-fang arachnoid anti-venom..." - he told a list of several kinds of medicines, antidotes and potions while everyone just stared in disbelief at the amount of things he had stored in his pocket - "...and last but not less important: the anti-mindworm helmet!" - he placed all the bottles and the helmet on her hands, her arms were shaking from so much weight - "I can't give you the AM-3000, since I never obtained it, but this will do, it'll be enough to let you have a very slightly safer trip in the Atmos. Of course it won't protect you from all of the storms and..."

"Stork! I guess she got your point." - Finn interrupted.

"Hmpf! Don't tell me I didn't warn you all enough." - the mechanic of the team simply crossed his arms.

"It's not as if we're going back to Atmos so early anyway." - the blonde boy said while rolling his eyes.

At that, Stork realized they were completely vulnerable in the unknown and he didn't have any repellent or antidote for any kind of new creatures or foreign food they might find, he also had just put a considerable portion of his belongings in the arms of a stranger of unknown species, so he finally snapped. His eye twitched frantically, and after letting out a loud and high pitched scream, he quickly grabbed all of the bottles and the helmet from Henny's arms, sprayed it all and ran as fast as he could inside the Condor. The lilac girl just exchanged a confused glance with Orion, the latter had a creeped out expression on its face, while the girl just smiled awkwardly and shyly.

"Uh... Sorry about Stork, he's not used to this place yet." - Aerrow spoke.

"It's alright." - she smiled.

"You said you've never heard of people in the Atmos." - Piper commented again - "But why? I figured that with so much technology you'd know everything about us."

"Well, we do have some technology, but it's nothing fancy, really, unless you're talking about some of the other reigns or the Hooded Shadows. Our reigns aren't like your terras, though, we have royal armies instead of sky knights and we don't live at the top of mountains, we share the same land with our neighbor reigns."

"So you don't fly in the sky with ships like ours?" - Junko was disappointed that those people were missing out on the fun of flying on a carrier ship - "And what are 'Hooded Shadows'?"

"Not my people, at least. We mount on our partners and explore." - she gently rubbed her hand against Orion's face, while it closed its eyes and smiled - "The Hooded Shadows are really skilled fighters of the night, but it seems they now found a way to overcome their weakness to light."

"Wait, those are the Night Crawlers!" - Aerrow realized.

"Oh, that's what you call them." - the girl giggled, those outsiders had rather funny names - "And it looks like you thought the Greatland was full of technology because of them. Have you met them before?"

"Yes. We used to think they were an elite squadron that only answered to Master Cyclonis, we never thought they came from the Far Side. Cyclonis's empire would have conquered the world if we hadn't stopped them." - Piper said - "But when we were about to arrest her, she entered a portal and fled here, so we followed her."

"So the Hooded Shadows went to the Atmos?!" - the lilac humanoid was quite surprised - "The Elders were right, the darkness is approaching!"

"What do you mean? You said something about darkness earlier." - Finn asked adamant with obtaining a response, since the last time he went along with something in the dark, he literally got eaten alive.

"Some months ago, the Elders told us about a glimpse of dark energy entering the Greatland." - everyone pictured in their minds Henny's explanation - "Sometime later, a huge army of Hooded Shadows was reported as moving. We've never seen anything like that before. But then the dark energy was gone. So the danger was dismissed until the lone dark energy came back again, though we can't pinpoint where it went now."

"That must have been Cyclonis." - Piper figured - "How did you end up coming to us, Henny?"

"After those reports I was sent to do some recon. And... Well..." - she wasn't sure about how to tell them what she had to say.

"Well...?" - Junko asked, trying to get her to finish.

"Orion and I... We felt some disturbing energy..." - she stared at Piper with a concerned expression - "...Coming from you."

Everyone's eyes were on Piper. The crystal mage was caught off guard by that, her face was a frown. She stepped away from them a bit, everyone observing her. Aerrow's and Junko's expressions showed they were worried about her, while Finn's and Radarr's showed they were a bit creeped out.

"Piper-" - Aerrow began.

"No, don't say that!" - the girl interrupted him, she knew where that talk was getting to.

As she continued backing away from them, the sky knight approached her, reaching out one arm in an attempt to calm her down. Suddenly, a weird noise was heard: the ship's engine was failing!

"The energy is almost over, we're gonna fall!" - Stork shouted from the bridge.

"Junko, go to the engine room and see if we still have enough fuel!" - Aerrow gave the orders.

"We only have one more crate and not enough spare crystals!" - Junko returned a few seconds later in between the ship falling and floating.

"I knew we were doomed from the start when we came here!" - the merb yelled.

"Look!" - Finn warned, pointing at a huge cloud of flying creatures.

Their heads resembled those of the eagles, they also had claws similar to the bird's, but instead of feathers, they had gray scales covering their bodies. They had spiky tails that could pierce even the hardest rocks and large wings that resembled the ones from a pterodactyl. The monsters began to attack the Condor, their tails creating holes on its hull.

"What are those things?!" - Junko asked alarmed.

"They're pteroeagles! I think we might be in their hunting area!" - Henny told them as she looked around in order to identify the area.

Finn shot at them a few times with his crossbow, but his arrows didn't seem to be very effective.

"Aw, man!" - the blonde grimaced.

Everyone stared at the huge group of flying beasts. They had gotten themselves into a big trouble now.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can view Henny's and Orion's profiles here:  
> [Henny's profile](https://123leyang321.deviantart.com/art/Henny-Orion-s-rider-made-with-mouse-only-382774929)  
> [Orions's profile](https://123leyang321.deviantart.com/art/Orion-Henny-s-partner-made-with-mouse-only-379527444)


	3. Episode 53 - Part 2

** Episode 53 - Warriors From Affair **

**Part 2 - The Storyteller**

The huge group of flying beasts was greatly threatening the Condor.

"Finn, Junko, go to the cannons!" - Aerrow told them.

Both quickly assumed their positions and started shooting. The blasts dealt some damage, but they were still not very effective, the beasts remained mostly unfazed.

"They're not leaving, Aerrow!" - Finn shouted with a worried look as he kept firing his cannon.

"If they don't get off us now, we're done for!" - Junko warned, his face was very serious.

"You guys! Come with us!" - Henny said, drawing the attention of the three crew members that remained in the hangar who turned to her - "I'll take you to my reign. We'll be safe there, the pteroeagles can't stand the heat!" - she proceeded to mount on Orion.

"Alright!" - Aerrow nodded, seeing there was no point in hesitating, then turned to his pilot - "Stork! Follow Henny! She knows the way!"

The foreign pair soared in the sky and flew in front of the window of the bridge, so the merb could properly track where they were heading to. But as soon as Henny and Orion flew forward, a swarm of pteroeagles attacked them.

"Oh, no! Henny!" - Piper shouted alarmed at the situation as her hands flew to her mouth.

"Look out!" - Aerrow threw himself against her, knocking both out of the way of one of the beasts that was trying to grab them with its sharp claws - "You okay?" - he quickly asked.

She nodded slightly, she was still a bit shaken by what Henny had revealed previously. Both kneeled and shielded themselves as the foreign duo erratically flew right above them while being chased by several flying creatures. Finn and Junko kept blasting at the animals, trying to give the Condor more time. Suddenly, one of the beasts flew by the sharpshooter's cannon and knocked him off the seat.

"Finn!" - Junko yelled while watching his best friend on free fall.

Henny noticed that and gasped.

"Orion!" - she proceeded to remove the bit gagging her partner - "I need you to blind them, now!"

Now free from the bit, Orion managed to open its mouth properly and let out an explosion of hard blue light, temporarily disabling the pteroeagles. With that, Henny guided it to the falling blonde boy and grabbed him just in time.

"Gotcha!" - she said as she held the collar of his shirt behind his neck.

Finn just sighed in relief and smiled gratefully as he was pulled up and got to sit behind her. The dragon-like creature kept letting out explosions of light whenever many flying beasts tried to gang up on them, keeping the trio safe and also allowing Stork to properly see them in the middle of that swarm of enraged animals. The ship was finally moving faster. They might have a chance!

"Quick, we're almost there!" - the lilac girl said.

The further they went into the reign's area, the hotter it became and the pteroeagles started fleeing. But then, one of the most enraged ones flew really fast close to Aerrow, Piper and Radarr and grabbed the little missions specialist.

"Radarr!" - Aerrow shouted, then, without hesitating, ran towards them and leaped from the landing strip, grabbing a hold of the beast.

"No! Aerrow!" - Piper screamed reaching out an arm for them.

She observed as her struggling friends were beginning to get out of sight, then pulled her green crystal from her pocket. She stared at it for a moment, thinking about what Cyclonis told her when the Empress had invaded her mind and Henny's new revelation. Then she frowned, closing her eyes.

"No... Don't think about it. They need my help!" - she said to herself then proceeded to focus, a green glow formed around her as she prepared to release the power from her crystal - " _Titan's Mi...!_ " - but before she could complete the spell, a sudden quick power loss of the ship made it fall quickly then float again, which caused her to lose her balance, interrupting her focus. Then the power gave up for good.

"We are... SO DOOMED NOW!" - Stork screamed in despair, because now they were helplessly falling with no chance of recovery.

"You'll have to make an emergency landing!" - Henny told him.

The pilot turned the Condor abruptly. It flew into some rocks, causing everyone inside to be knocked back. The ship hit the ground and slid a few more feet until it finally stopped. After the dust cloud disappeared, the Condor could be seen and it wasn't way too damaged, though the merb would definitely complain about the huge scratch on the lower part of the hull. Orion landed near a coughing Piper, and Finn dismounted from it as Junko and Stork came running from inside the hangar.

"Wow, dude, that was close." - the blonde sighed, they certainly started with the wrong foot that day - "Everyone made it?"

"No... Aerrow and Radarr are gone." - the navigator said sadly, feeling specially remorseful.

Everyone else looked towards the cliff they had come from and gasped. They couldn't lose their leader in their first day in a new place, they just couldn't!

"I'm sorry, I should have brought you to safety first." - the foreign rider said and her partner dropped its ear fins, an upset tone could be noted in her voice.

"Don't blame yourself, it was my fault. I didn't react fast enough." - the crystal mage was depressed and the lilac girl could sense that, so she stared at her in sympathy and worry.

"Orion and I can go look for them." - she offered in an attempt to keep their hope up while the dragon-like creature nodded promptly - "They shouldn't be too far, pteroeagles can't carry too much weight at once."

Before she could take flight, though, they saw a shadow in the mist. It had the shape of one of the flying beasts.

"C'mon, will they ever give up?" - the sharpshooter aimed with his crossbow, but when he was about to shoot, Piper's hand stopped him.

"Wait." - she warned him as the shadow came closer and revealed the beast had two figures riding it - "It's Aerrow!" - the navigator said excitedly.

"And he's riding a pteroeagle! That's incredible!" - Henny said quite impressed a newcomer managed to do such a thing right away in his first try - "Though I guess they'd like some help." - she then proceeded to fly towards them with Orion.

Aerrow struggled a bit to direct the beast and keep it from lashing out at them at the same time, while Radarr was holding tightly onto him for his dear life. The foreign pair approached them, the lilac girl reaching one arm out for them. Radarr squeaked happily, glad that she was helping them, then gestured for his sky knight to reach his arm out as well. When they were all sure Henny and Aerrow had a good hold of each other's wrists, the girl pulled them with all her strength, and, as the red headed boy released the flying beast, Orion let out a beam of hard blue light right on its face, stunning the pteroeagle and making it retreat clumsily.

The four flew back and Henny let go of Aerrow's wrist when they were above the Condor's landing path, dropping him down on his feet while she and Orion maneuvered to land near the group. Everyone cheered for their leader and his co-pilot, glad that both were okay. The boy smiled at his friends, assuring them that they were fine, then turned to address the foreign pair.

"Thanks for helping us. I'm glad we all got out in one piece." - the sky knight said.

"Actually, I regret not taking you guys here sooner. We could have avoided all of that." - Henny lowered her head - "I'm so sorry for putting you in danger, that was all my fault, you couldn't have known-"

"Hey, hey, it's no biggie, really! Relax." - Finn spoke, interrupting her nearly endless apology. Woah, she was really making a big deal out of that! She grinned a bit bashfully.

"Pardon me, I'm just nervous. Orion and I have been training all this time to be part of the royal army. So we gotta try to protect our mates the best we can!" - she told them.

"That's pretty cool." - Junko commented - "Can you tell us more about you?"

"Sure! I'll bring you guys to my village to get some supplies and rest. I'll tell you whatever you wanna know on the way. I hope this will compensate for my clumsiness." - she smiled awkwardly.

"We're all okay. Nothing to worry about." - Aerrow assured her while putting his fists on his hips.

Piper stared at him while he said that, then lowered her head, her face was a frown. Nothing to worry about? She thought about it as everyone started walking. She wasn't so sure about that. Then she proceeded to follow everyone.

* * *

Everyone was walking in a large road. There wasn't one single form of vegetation around them, only a huge flat brown dusty terrain that seemed to have no end. Though you could see near the horizon what looked like a wall.

"Over there is the entrance to the reign." - Henny pointed at the wall as Finn and Stork stared at it with shocked expressions. Oh, the distance they'd have to walk!

"So... What's this place called?" - Junko asked.

"This is the Warmya Reign. It has this name because it's warm all the time. There's no winter, no summer, no season at all." - the lilac girl told them.

"What exactly is this thing?" - Stork pointed at Orion.

The creature glared at him, offended because he talked about it as if it were a monster, instead of addressing it by its name. The sudden reaction made the merb yell an "Eek!". Henny just smiled awkwardly and stroke Orion gently, trying to prevent it from acting aggressively. The creature quickly calmed down, it didn't really mean any harm, but the green humanoid could use some manners!

"Orion is a male Xeedwox. I'm an official Xeedwox Breeder, all of my village get tamed Xeedwoxes from me." - she replied.

"That's nice." - Aerrow commented smiling towards the creature, then he looked back at her - "How did you become a Xeedwox Breeder?"

"After training a bit on how to treat and mount on already tamed Xeedwoxes, when we're old enough, we have our first contact with a wild Xeedwox we need to tame." - she told him.

"I'm guessing Orion is that Xeedwox." - Piper figured.

"Exactly!" - the foreign girl smiled as Orion stroke his head against the navigator's arm, confirming she was correct and making the blue haired girl giggle - "That was an interesting adventure..." - she began.

* * *

"I was on my way to a Xeedwox cave."

_A small lilac girl wearing two pigtails, a purple and white dress, white pants, purple shoes and a large purple ribbon around her waist was climbing a hill. After she reached the top, she saw a large cave. When she got inside, she noticed the path was too steep, so she started climbing down carefully. When she was halfway there, one of the rocks below her feet gave up and she slid right into a big Xeedwox that was asleep._

* * *

"Suddenly, two huge bright eyes appeared!" - Henny said in a macabre tone.

Stork, Finn and Junko unleashed a scream of terror and the wallop embraced both his friends, smashing their bones. Aerrow's and Piper's eyes widened, and when Radarr hid behind the sky knight's shoulder, the boy smiled at his buddy's reaction, while the girl giggled at the blonde's and the merb's expressions.

* * *

_The beast woke up and roared fiercely at Henny. The girl screamed in terror as the sharp claws were ready to strike at her. The combination of those sounds echoing in the cave made the ground shake and then a small gap opened, leading to an abyss. Scared cries echoed inside the cave. They were coming from the crack in the ground. The big Xeedwox recognized her cub hanging from a small platform and lowered her head, trying to fit it in the gap, but it was too small for her._

"I'll go get it!" - Henny tried to offer her help, but the mother Xeedwox didn't trust her and growled at her.

"Then, another cry was heard: the cub was about to fall! The mother became desperate."

_"Please, let me help you." - Henny tried to reason with her again, finally earning her trust, so she went into the gap._

When she was able to grasp the cub's paw, she proceeded to pull it, but the platform gave up under her feet and both started falling. She held the cub firmly with one arm and used the other to untie her ribbon from her waist and get it stuck around a pointy rock to prevent them from falling to their deaths, but that alone couldn't hold their weight for too long. The beast was crying, it was really scared.

"Hey, hey. It's okay. We'll get out of this. I promise." - she managed to calm it down - "You should try to fly to your mother." - she said and, at that, the creature cringed, it had never tried to fly before - "Just flap your wings with confidence. You can do this, we both know it!"

At that the creature felt confident enough. It flapped its wings and started flying, but the wind produced by the flapping of the wings was so strong that when it touched the rocky walls, everything started shaking again. That area was really sensitive to any kind of perturbation! Suddenly, a beam of light and a loud sound similar to the one of an explosion came: the Xeedwox mother had made a big hole and managed to bring her head down into the crack!

The little Xeedwox held its mother's horn with both paws and offered its tail to the girl, so she could leave the crack too. Henny smiled at the little one and held its tail. The big Xeedwox quickly pulled them all as the crack was starting to close because of the perturbations. After everyone had been saved, the Xeedwox mother wasn't hostile anymore, and the little one had become really friendly towards Henny. The mother understood that her cub wanted to be with the girl, so she allowed it to leave the cave with the stranger.

* * *

"And that's how I tamed my first Xeedwox, or should I say, that's how he tamed himself for me." - she giggled and Orion smiled.

"Wow, you can understand the creatures from here on another level." - Piper said - "You managed to earn their trust so quickly, that's impressive considering it was your first time."

"And they're considered dangerous because they're very skittish." - the lilac girl said, while Orion was looking at her and shaking his head, denying part of what she had just said - "Of course, some are very kind and friendly from the get go, like you, Orion." - she added, making the Xeedwox smile in agreement.

"How long have you two known each other?" - Aerrow asked while Radarr stretched his neck and smiled, eager to know the answer.

"I think it'll be 167 years in two months. Right, Orion?" - she said, and the Xeedwox thought a bit then nodded confirming that while everyone was speechless.

"167 years?! That's a lot!" - Junko said surprised.

"How old are you? Because you don't look like you're that old!" - Finn asked rather skeptical, and Piper glared at him. Talk about sounding rude!

"Hm, time passes by so quickly, I never thought it was too long until you said that. I'm 214 right now, while Orion is 192. What about you guys?" - Henny was curious as well.

"Well, we don't live that long... So we're all just 14, except for Stork, he's in his early twenties." - the blonde pointed a thumb at the merb in the last part.

"Wow! You're really short-lived!" - she was amazed.

"Hm, I was wondering: how long exactly did it take for that 'lone dark energy' to return after it came here for the first time?" - Piper asked.

"I think it was 6 months." - she said.

"6 months?" - everyone was astonished.

"Well, it looks like time actually passes by faster in here than in Atmos. Since Cyclonis went back to Atmos after coming here, it took a few weeks until we finally defeated her empire and chased after her." - Piper concluded as she placed a hand on her chin in thought.

"That is pretty intriguing. But you guys are indeed short-lived, specially here then, you'll grow older even faster." - Henny said - "If here my people generally live about 1000 years, in Atmos we'd live for almost 5000 years! While you guys might not make it after 40 in here!"

At that, Finn screamed like a little girl.

"Guys, let's do this mission quickly and get out!" - the blonde said - "I don't wanna die so early! I'm already feeling like I'm a few years older!" - he was becoming more desperate, and Piper just shook her head, disappointed with his immature behavior.

"But being short-lived isn't as bad as you think. Because of that you guys have so much drive! I can sense you've been in so many adventures in so few years!" - the lilac girl spoke.

"Yeah, we have quite a few stories to tell." - Piper giggled.

"Oh, speaking of 'stories to tell', I'm known as the storyteller in my village, because I also have lots of adventures I like to share with my friends." - Henny commented - "I can tell you all my stories if you guys tell me yours too!"

"Sure!" - Aerrow said and Radarr chirped in agreement, the little guy also wanted to hear more stories!

He even leaped from his leader's shoulders and landed on Orion's back to ride him a bit. The Xeedwox smiled at the little animal. Everyone else seemed to agree as well, it'd be a good way to know more about the Far Side through Henny.

"Great! Now let me tell you about this day my friend Tyron wanted his Killerhammer to face Orion to prove he was the best fighter!" - she began.

"Killerhammer?" - Stork started - "Is this some kind of scourge?" - he asked and all the other Storm Hawks looked at him in disbelief, Finn even made a gesture suggesting the merb was insane, while the others just smiled and shook their heads - "What? I'd name a plague like that." - he shrugged and spoke calmly.

"Oh, no, nothing like that." - Henny laughed awkwardly - "They're actually really big hounds and are generally very mean. They're usually seen in the wild, using their spiky fur to hunt their prey."

"Woah! It looks like everything here has some special skill!" - Finn commented - "Why aren't you cool like these creatures from here, Radarr?" - the blonde teased the animal and the latter responded with a growl: he was clearly angry at him.

Henny then paid attention to the missions specialist. He surely looked familiar.

"You know, I think I might have seen Radarr's kind around here somewhere." - she said.

"Really?" - Aerrow was surprised - "So you're saying Radarr's species might come from the Far Side?" - he wondered and everyone stared at his co-pilot.

"Then how did he get to the other side? It can't be... Unless his species existed before the split on the Atmos!" - Piper was trying to find logic in that. How intriguing!

"Ugh, just thinking about it makes my head ache." - Finn said, much to Piper's and Radarr's annoyance - "Let's just hear Henny's story, shall we?" - he said and the lilac girl giggled.

The sharpshooter was really a person that only cared about the high points, she was surprised that he was interested in her stories at all.

"Well, that all happened a few months after I met Orion..." - she began telling her story as all continued walking.

* * *

An empty rocky terrain could be seen. It was dark, almost as if it was at night, even though the light from the huge tower would illuminate the place partially. The sound of a person walking and hiding among the rocks could be heard. The person was a blonde man, none other than Domiwick.

He poked his head out of his hiding place to take a quick look around, then hid again. It seemed like he was trying to discreetly make his way towards somewhere. He looked upwards and saw a huge building: a castle. He gasped at the magnificence of the place. He thought about knocking on the door, but he hesitated as he remembered what had happened the last time he tried to make contact with someone from the Far Side.

* * *

_It was a little dark. The soft wind from the morning hit the waters of that little beach. Domiwick, wearing a breather, had just left the water. The explorer walked along the sand._

"Finally, I found the passage to the Far Side of the Atmos!" - he said after taking in with much awe the landscape he had seen - "I'm making history! I'll be known forever for my greatest achievement!"

He entered a cave and climbed to the edge of the big terrain. He was ecstatic! He had never seen a place like that! A huge cavern with several paths filled with crystals. But it did look as if there was a civilization there, because some of the paths seemed to have been altered by some kind of "people". It was so exciting! Wanting to take a better look at his surroundings, he tried to take the breather off, but got his head stuck.

"Darn it!" - he cursed angrily.

Unfortunately, he wasn't lucky at that moment, his voice echoed through the tunnels of the caves, awakening dormant beings who were there. He was still focused on getting rid of the helmet stuck tight, tough.

"I should have taken the wallop's breather!" - he complained about Piper's small breather.

Until he turned around and bumped into a black lizard like creature with glowing red eyes that seemed to be very angry at him. Next to it was a native man that looked like a human made of stone, also mad at his presence. It looked like they really hated to be disturbed in their sleep!

"Hehe... Er... Sorry for bothering you... I just got here, and... I got stuck in this breather here." - he said it in the most embarrassing way imaginable while pointing to his head, but then regained his composure - "But I came in peace. And I actually just wanted to talk about your civilization."

The man just stared at him with a weird expression. He didn't like him and saw him as an inconvenience, so he motioned to the creature beside him to attack. The effeminate cries of the "brave" explorer running from the huge beings who pursued him at high speed could be heard in the distance.

After quite sometime being chased, Domiwick found himself standing in front of a huge wall, with nowhere left to run. It was a dead end! Once he turned around he saw he was cornered by the angry creatures.

"Hehehe." - he laughed nervously - "Can't we talk this out? I can give you some exotic things from the Atmos in return if you guys just let me make a documentary." - he tried to negotiate, but they didn't seem to be interested.

Suddenly, the ground started shaking, all the creatures looked backwards and Domiwick looked past them: the huge gates of a castle were opening in the distance. From inside the castle came several waves of Night Crawlers, swarming the skies above them. The creatures unleashed loud high pitched sounds, as if they were scared and retreated quickly to the depths of the caves.

"This can't be good." - the explorer grimaced. He didn't know who the Night Crawlers were, but he knew that if they managed to scare those frightening beasts away so easily, they shouldn't be messed with, so he decided to lay low and even stay underground.

A long while had passed. Domiwick came out of his hiding place looking like a castaway after years of being stuck in a lone island. He had a full grown beard, rips on his clothes and a makeshift bag. He saw the Night Crawlers were still dominating the sky. He couldn't understand what was going on, it had been months and they were still there! Then a portal opened in the sky, and the waves of Night Crawlers went through it. Domiwick noticed something different among that swarm so he squinted his eyes trying to see it and he couldn't believe it: that was Master Cyclonis!

Before he could even let that sink in, she went through the portal too and it closed behind her. He stared back towards the castle, observing the immense spiky canyon separating him from its entrance, then decided to move.

* * *

At last, after about 6 months of walking through the complex labyrinth that was that huge canyon, there he was in front of the castle's entrance. Suddenly, he saw another portal opening and Cyclonis stepped out of it. She looked at the castle's gate, mumbled something then entered.

"Hmpf... I think maybe she might let me in." - Domiwick spoke to himself - "She's probably the most reasonable person I'll find around here right now. Besides..." - he remembered what Snipe had done when they reached the Forbidden City several months ago - "She does owe me after that stupid Snipe ruined our deal!"

He got out of his hiding place and made it to the castle unnoticed right before the gate closed.

* * *

"Orion was doing just fine and the fight was even until he got pinned down!"

_The Killerhammer, a big reddish hound with yellow eyes, launched some of its spiky fur and managed to stuck the Xeedwox's wings on the ground, immobilizing him!_

"Great job, Hansel!" - Tyron cheered for his hound - "Now end this!"

The young Warmyan boy had gray short and straightly cut hair, a slightly darker skin tone than Henny, dark blue irises, and wore a beige shirt with brown pants and shoes.

Hansel jumped on Orion and held him down, waiting for the judge watching their battle to finish counting the 10 seconds and declare him the winner.

"No, Orion! Get out of there!" - Henny pleaded.

"5! 4! 3!" - the judge was counting.

At the very moment the judge said the number 2, Orion turned his neck around and, facing Hansel from a really close distance, unleashed some really bright light right on his face. The hound leaped backwards, stunned, then the Xeedwox took the moment to stand up a bit and use his tail to pin the Killerhammer down.

Applying some pressure to the hound's neck, Orion managed to immobilize him for the 10 seconds needed.

"3! 2! 1! Orion is the winner!" - the judge declared.

"You did it, Orion! I knew you could do it!" - the girl hugged her best friend.

"Your puppy there is tougher than he looks." - Tyron admitted - "Still, Hansel gave him a lot of trouble." - he patted his Killerhammer on the head, making the beast smile proudly.

"Yeah, Hansel is pretty skilled. We should train more often. We won't get to the Royal Guard so soon without that!" - she giggled.

Both nodded and shook hands after a friendly sparring time.

* * *

"And that's how Orion won his first fight ever." - the girl finished.

"He's a quick thinker. That was a great turn around." - Piper commented and the Xeedwox smiled at her, making her smile back at him.

Radarr chirped happily at the big black creature, and both high-fived. Aerrow smiled at that, it looked like his co-pilot had made a new good friend. Maybe that experience with the dragons had helped Radarr to open up more easily to others.

"So you guys train during the sparring time, then." - the sky knight figured.

"Yep." - the lilac girl replied - "It does improve a lot our skills while we're having some fun!"

"That's right!" - Finn said - "See, Piper? Even in the Far Side this is training!" - he nudged the navigator while referring to what she had said about their "combat training" last time they had done that.

"Sure, but their training doesn't include blowing up a ship with dangerous and unknown crystals!" - she retorted glaring at him, reminding the blonde boy that he and the guys were actually just messing around in her lab while she was trying to stabilize a crystal that just happened to be a leech crystal. Funny, huh?

The sharpshooter just smiled awkwardly and shrugged, reminded that it was thanks to Piper's help that they hadn't met their doom by Ravess's hands that day. Trying not to lose his composure, he quickly changed the subject.

"Hey, are we there yet?" - he asked.

"You spoke just in time: welcome, guys, to the Borderlines Xeedwox Village!" - the Henny replied looking back at him, then gesturing to the entrance - "It has this name because it's at the very border of Warmyan territory and is the home of the tamed Xeedwoxes."

"You call this a village? It's bigger than a whole city!" - the sharpshooter said astonished.

Everyone was looking in awe at a huge stone arc marking the boundary of the village's lands. They were amazed at the extent of that place that was larger than entire Terra Atmosia! In addition, its buildings were as pretty as the most beautiful ones from Terra Vapos.

"Well, since this is a borderline village, it has to be bigger and better guarded, after all, they're like gateways to the rest of the kingdom!" - she explained.

"That makes perfect sense." - Piper agreed nodding - "Your people seem to be really organized, Henny."

"Thanks, Piper." - she smiled shyly - "It's not easy maintaining order in such a large kingdom, that's one reason Orion and I applied to become part of the Royal Guard." - she gestured to her partner and placed a hand on her heart - "We wanna help and I'm sure we'll pass on the test." - she looked at her friend and the Xeedwox made a high pitched sound to show he shared her confidence.

"That's pretty cool. In the Atmos not anyone can join a sky knight squadron, even if they really wanna help." - Aerrow explained - "When we tried to apply to become the new Storm Hawks, we got turned down just because they thought we were too young." - he stroke the back of his head at the memory.

"Wow, now that's a bummer!" - she frowned - "There's no age restriction in here, I don't know why to have one at all. Not many people offer their help like that, and when some do they get turned down? It's ridiculous!" - she was indignant at that - "If you guys had the skills and the gear covered, why not just accept you right away?" - she shook her head in disbelief, she had no idea things worked like that in the Atmos. That was so yesterday!

"That's exactly what I had thought, Henny!" - Piper said placing a hand on the lilac girl's shoulder, remembering her own disappointed words at that very day. Both smiled at each other knowingly.

"Still..." - Aerrow started, making both stare at him - "They ended up needing us. And even though we weren't official, all we did was recognized and appreciated."

"Ah, that's the least they could do!" - Henny smiled - "Hey, guys, why don't we go to my house for some supplies? I'll show you around the village afterwards." - she invited them, to which they accepted, then she proceed to walk through the entrance with the Storm Hawks following close behind.

* * *

Cyclonis walked in the aisles of the huge castle. She stopped by a mirror that was not a common mirror, it showed everything that happened in the Far Side. The girl went near the mirror and started looking for the Storm Hawks.

Meanwhile, Domiwick was lost in one of the many corridors. The place was already dark inside, being also a maze made everything even harder! He kept walking aimlessly, when, suddenly, he heard a weird sound and tried to hide somewhere, but when he turned around he bumped on an empty iron armor that was next to the wall, knocking it on the ground and making a loud noise.

The Empress was startled by the noise and looked to the side. There, standing next to the fallen armor was the blonde explorer. He was in a pretty awkward scared pose when she placed her eyes on him. He cleaned his throat and assumed a serious posture.

"What a surprise! I didn't expect Domiwick, the explorer, to be here." - she ironically greeted him.

"Cyclonis, I believe we have some unfinished business to settle." - he started, crossing his arms - "I'm not satisfied! You owe me at least a refund."

"Oh, I see, was it Snipe?" - she said in a cynical voice - "Don't worry, he has already been punished." - she stared at a painting of the Wastelands hanging on the wall and the explorer's eyes widened. That was... Pretty severe. He quickly regained his composure: she still had to make up for ruining his quest!

"That doesn't pay back the money and the time I wasted on that expedition, though." - he complained - "I need either a refund or resources for free to make up for it!"

The girl giggled darkly as she saw through the mirror that the Storm Hawks had reached a village and a native girl was with them.

"That can be provided." - she had an evil smirk - "I can give you resources that are worth much more than you paid for free." - she glanced at him, and by the look on his face he seemed interested but didn't fully trust her words - "You'll just have to do a few little things for me, but you can have the supplies right now."

"That sounds reasonable." - he looked down in thought for a moment, then met her eyes again - "You better not go back on what you said this time, or the deal is over."

"Don't worry, you won't be disappointed." - she then addressed a Night Crawler that was just passing by - "Take our guest to one of the quarters. I have other business to attend to at the moment."

The dark hooded soldier nodded and led the explorer down the corridor. Cyclonis had a malevolent smile: she was up to something very bad for the Storm Hawks...

 


	4. Episode 53 - Part 3

**Episode 53 - Warriors From Affair**

**Part 3 - To The Capital**

"This arch is the entrance to the town." - Henny showed the place to her new friends - "Here's the square, where our important events happen, like the Xeedwox Festival." - the lilac girl said pointing to a huge fountain pouring clear water that flowed in the center of a courtyard with several kiosks full of different things, stone benches, exotic trees and some Xeedwoxes statues.

"This festival sounds like fun! I bet there's a lot of food!" - Junko said excitedly.

"Yep! One day you guys should come to enjoy the festival." - the Warmyan giggled - "Over there is the village council, formed by a group of reliable people selected by the King himself." - the girl said, showing a mansion with beautiful architecture and two Xeedwoxes statues on either side of door.

"So it's like the Sky Council from Terra Atmosia, but with local influence." - Piper asked.

"I believe so." - Henny nodded.

They all continued walking when a certain building caught Aerrow's attention: it seemed to be some kind of temple, with several columns holding the ceiling. The peculiar thing about it? It actually looked ancient, unlike the rest of the village.

"Henny, what's in that building?" - he pointed at the temple.

"Oh, yeah, there's the temple! Come, I'll show you around." - she led the squad to the huge temple, where they walked through a narrow corridor with a door at the end - "You're about to see something very sacred and special to our village. Something that belonged to the very first civilizations from the Greatland." - the Warmyan opened the door and showed a large marble tub full of water supported by a broad pedestal.

"What is this?" - Finn asked not very impressed. He had hoped to see some kind of treasure, maybe a huge glowing gem or something, but the room was completely empty aside from that tub.

"This is a Thought Through, it reveals anything you wanna know." - she explained.

"How does it work? It's not some kind of hallucinating drug, is it?" - Stork asked as he carefully eyed the edges of the tub from up close, while Finn and Junko stared at him creeped out and Aerrow and Piper just shook their heads.

"Don't worry, no drugs. I'll show you how it works." - she approached the tub, leaned over it and whispered - "Storm Hawks."

The water soon began to rise up, forming a lot of smoke and then shot light towards the ceiling that could be seen clearly in the mist. Moving figures appeared in the light, like a hologram, showing some moments experienced by the squadron: their first victory against Cyclonia in the day Aerrow shattered the Aurora Stone; the mission that freed Terra Gale's squadron; the Timepulse repair in Terra Glockenchime; the expedition to the Forbidden City on Terra Xoam; the fall of Polaris Pointe; the shut down of the Talon Academy; their training with Ayrgyn; the destruction of the Exopod in space; the expulsion of the Night Crawlers from Terra Klockstoppia; the end of the Suit of Untold Vengeance and the Medulla Crystal; the rescue of the Neck Deeps in Terra Aquanos; the crazy rampage Stork went on that freed Terra Bogaton; and the recent victory against Cyclonia that led them to the Far Side.

"Wow, that's incredible! It knows everything!" - Aerrow said, truly impressed by how accurate and detailed were those glimpses of their adventures.

"I'm the one in awe here." - Henny commented, her eyes glued to the images - "You guys are real heroes! I just have to take you to our King! I'm sure he'll contribute to your cause."

"That'd be of great help, Henny." - Piper thanked her.

"I'll do anything to help you guys." - Henny saluted - "But... You can't go dressed like that."

"Why? What's wrong with our uniforms?" - Junko asked checking himself out. Did he wear his shirt inside out? Was it stained?

"Well... How can I say this... They're a little... Informal." - the girl shrugged and smiled awkwardly.

"Yes, yes... We have another set of uniforms, but they're way back in the Condor." - Stork told her.

"Sweet! We'll use the new uniforms!" - the sharpshooter celebrated then, after seeing his leader's expression didn't authorize this change of clothes, he completed - "Aerrow, don't forget you said we would save them for special occasions. I think a visit to the King of Warmya is special enough, don't you?" - he pleaded with his stare.

Aerrow was quiet, though, he was still deciding. He really didn't feel like wearing clothes that reminded him of Carver, plus, they had the colors of the Red Eagles, not of the Storm Hawks.

"This time you have to agree that Finn is right, Aerrow." - Piper said, which caused both boys to look at her rather surprised she was siding with the blonde - "Those are our only new clothes. These uniforms have been repaired and washed so many times that the clothing is pretty much ruined." - she slid her finger by her glove, feeling the harmed clothing - "It's actually just a matter of time until our uniforms become dust." - she frowned.

At her last speech, Finn, Stork, Junko and Radarr quickly put their hands in front of their pants, as if they were expecting their clothes to disappear at any given moment. Aerrow just watched the four's reaction with a blank expression.

"Fine. Let's wear them." - the sky knight finally allowed.

"But for that, we'll have to walk all these miles back again." - the merb spoke in a pessimistic way.

"If you're tired I can solve this problem. Come to my house." - the Warmyan offered.

Henny and Orion were leading everyone, until the girl noticed Piper was left behind.

"Follow Orion, I'll catch up with you guys in a sec!" - she said, then quickly sprinted back to the room they were in previously.

She saw Piper by the tub, staring intensely at the water. The crystal mage didn't show any reaction towards Henny's presence, she didn't move her eyes from the water.

"I can feel a lot of turmoil in you." - the lilac girl said, startling Piper.

The crystal mage turned around and stared at her.

"Turmoil?" - the voice of the spying sky knight whispered as he stood outside the door, leaning against one of the walls and barely peaking his head on the doorway.

He was starting to get worried... What was wrong with Piper? Then he heard Henny talking again and paid attention.

"I know what you're trying to see there." - the Warmyan said - "But there are things that are best left unknown to us." - she placed a hand on Piper's shoulder - "Don't think too much about it. That might make things worse."

"I-I guess you're right." - the blue haired girl murmured.

"Hm..." - Aerrow frowned, then he heard the sound of their steps coming closer and quickly bolted out of the corridor, so they'd not see him.

The two girls made it outside not long after Aerrow and they didn't notice nor suspected he had been listening to their conversation.

"Sorry for keeping you waiting." - Piper apologized.

"Is everything okay?" - he asked.

"Yeah." - she smiled - "Now let's go."

He observed as she ran past him with Henny following close behind. He was wondering what was in Piper's mind. He noticed he couldn't predict the way she was feeling so well anymore. Not too long ago he was able to read her like a book, but now it was like there was a massive wall preventing him from doing that. He pushed his thoughts aside and went after them. Shortly after the three caught up with the rest of the group and continued on their way to Henny's house.

* * *

After a brief walk, they arrived at Henny's home. It looked like a modest ranch, nothing fancy. The small cottage's roof was made of straw and hay, the walls were made of stone and there was a short wooden fence around two other Xeedwoxes.

"I'm taking care of two Xeedwoxes, so you can catch a ride with them." - the Warmyan whistled and the two winged creatures came flying from behind the fence, then landed in front of them - "This is Gyru and this is Moone, they're already tamed, you can mount on them."

Moone was a female Xeedwox, she had dark rose scales covering her body, pink membranes on her wings and tail fins, pink shinning eyes, small sharp claws on her paws and a small nose like the one of a wallop. She was slender and had a more delicate body, she didn't have horns on her head, instead she had a long fin that came from the top of her head and fell by one of the sides of her head.

Gyru was a male Xeedwox and Moone's younger brother. He had dark red scales, red shinning eyes, red membranes on the wings, tail and head fins, two small horns, a small nose like the one of a wallop, though it wasn't sharp yet, and big claws on the paws, not sharp either. Even though Gyru was younger, he was bigger, he was going to be a really big Xeedwox when he becomes an adult.

"They're really beautiful!" - Piper was in awe. Such wonderful creatures! And they looked incredibly healthy, Henny must definitely be taking really good care of them.

Moone dashed gracefully towards Orion and made a happy high pitched noise, greeting him. The black Xeedwox lowered his head awkwardly, but not moving his eyes from her stare. Henny was standing next to the crystal mage and turned to her with a hand near her own mouth so the creature wouldn't listen.

"You know, Orion always acts funny when he's around Moone." - she giggled - "I think he has a crush on her, but he always denies it when I ask." - she chuckled a bit more - "Boys can be so stubborn!"

"Oh, tell me about it!" - Piper said staring at the guys. They really could be a handful sometimes, specially the blonde boy.

When both creatures were ready, Finn and Junko mounted on Gyru, the red Xeedwox felling the wallop was a little too heavy shivered a bit, Piper and Stork mounted on Moone, and Aerrow and Radarr went with Henny and Orion. All took off.

"I have to admit, these creatures do fly really smoothly." - Stork praised after he observed the Xeedwoxes flying. He could certainly learn a thing or two about their flight that could help him improve their flying gear.

"It must be incredible to do aerial stunts with them." - Aerrow said.

"So you like adventure, huh. I think you'll love to fly with Orion then." - Henny said, then turned to the rose dragon-like animal flying near them - "Moone! Come a little bit closer!" - when the female Xeedwox approached, the lilac girl leaped and mounted on her - "Orion, show what you can do!"

Orion started flying higher and higher and made a series of multiple loops and barrel rolls in the air. Radarr clung tightly to Aerrow's arm and squinted his eyes in a silent prayer for their integrity, while the latter was enjoying the adrenaline. A typical "Wooooohooooo!" could be heard from the sky knight when the Xeedwox dived and flew really close to the ground while spinning in the air a few times. Aerrow could touch the soil if he reached his hand out.

Soon, Henny mounted again on her partner and all continued on their way.

* * *

Within minutes they were in the Condor, wearing the new uniforms. When they appeared well-dressed, the lilac girl grinned admired. Now they were presentable!

"I missed this uniform!" - Finn hugged himself as he and the others walked down the ramp to exit the Condor.

Piper giggled at Finn's happiness, while Junko and Stork checked themselves out and agreed the new uniforms were better. Aerrow, however, didn't feel well. He really didn't want to wear Carver's colors nor did he want his team to wear them, but that had to be done.

Finally, they flew to the capital, Warm Town.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the Night Crawler's tower, Cyclonis was walking by one of the creepy and dark corridors and met with four of her elite soldiers.

"We're ready, Master." - the Night Crawler with red shiny eyes said.

"Very well." - she replied and knocked on the door that was by her left.

Shortly after, Domiwick opened the door. After having the chance to get new clothes, a proper bath and shave, he no longer looked like a hobo.

"Have you brought me any resources?" - he asked.

"Yes, I have." - she gestured to one of the Night Crawlers holding a bag that contained exploration equipment and the dark elite soldier handed it to the blonde man - "I need you to show this squadron how you got to the Far Side. They'll protect you from harm and you can explore whatever you want on the way."

"While it all seems fine and dandy, apparently my only chance to do my job is when it benefits you." - he commented crossing his arms - "I don't want to be held down by that, I wish to be able to explore whenever I want."

"And you will. I'll have a small squadron escort you whenever you go out. I'll just need your knowledge every now and then." - Cyclonis explained.

"Then we have a deal." - he put the bag on his back - "I'll show you where I came from."

He walked among the Night Crawlers and left, while Cyclonis just smirked. Everything was going according to what she had planned. The explorer's presence just helped her even more! Soon she'd have what she wanted.

* * *

Arriving at the King's palace in Warm Town, the Storm Hawks were amazed, it was a beautiful place! It had many fountains, a huge garden full of various types of plants, paths of green stones leading up to the front portal, where they landed, and some guards with Killerhammers protecting the front door.

"I request an audience with His Majesty." - Henny told one of the guards, then she approached him even more to whisper on his ear - "It's important that these news won't be spread too much, I'm here with a very, very special visit: they're newcomers from Atmos."

The guard was ecstatic. He was curious about the visitors. He called one of the King's lackeys and told him the news. The footman quickly understood everything and led the squad to the throne room entrance hall.

"Wait a moment, I'll let His Majesty know about your arrival." - the lackey said as he slipped into the room and shut the door behind him.

After a few seconds, the doors opened, revealing the huge room whose walls were filled with gold and crystals, many yellow flags with the symbol of Warmya Reign - an orange sun - hanging from the ceiling and several sculptures and paintings with some of the most important moments in Warmyan history. The servant appeared in front of the visitors and spoke to them again.

"You may come, the King awaits you." - he bowed down gesturing to the direction of the throne.

They came in, letting out some gasps of awe, and stood in front of a staircase with a few steps that reached to the throne. The chair itself was majestic, one could feel the importance the King had and how great a person had to be to become the King. Henny and Orion immediately bowed down respectfully. Piper saw that and gestured to the boys so the whole squadron would do the same. The King got up and went downstairs. Then stared at them all, but looked specially at Aerrow. He could see some of the sky knight's feats just by staring at his eyes and he was amazed by the fact that a kid could pull all that off.

"Welcome to my palace. I'm Eridius, King of Warmya. What brings you to the Greatland?" - the King presented himself.

He was tall, had dark purple skin, dark sclera and light blue irises. His white hair grew a little bit beyond his shoulders and he kept it away from his face thanks to his crown. His beard rested on his chest. He wore an orange leather outfit and golden armor, along with a yellow and long cape and a golden crown with an orange crystal.

"We're after a really dangerous person that escaped from the Atmos: Master Cyclonis." - Aerrow informed the King.

"I see. I have received reports of a dark energy coming to the Greatland and an abnormally large number of Hooded Shadows moving out. Was that her?" - he asked.

"Yes. Cyclonis used high technology from here to attack all the terras from the Atmos, and she almost conquered them all!" - Piper told him - "Luckily, we managed to break through her plan and win the war, but after she fled here we lost track of her. Though we think she might be with the Night Crawlers."

The King raised an eyebrow at that last name she mentioned, not aware of who they were.

"Uh... Those are the Hooded Shadows, Your Majesty." - Henny said in a low voice, almost afraid of sounding impolite for speaking without being addressed, but the King didn't seem to mind that as he simply nodded once acknowledging the information she gave him.

"Hm... That's not good. She has access to way too many resources. The Hooded Shadows are a faction you really don't want to mess with. They've been trouble in the past and I'm afraid they might become a problem now again." - the King pondered putting a hand to his chin.

"And that's why we're here. We need to find her and arrest her as soon as possible." - the sky knight said - "The longer we let her stay free, the more time she'll have to gather new forces and strike back."

"Invading the Hooded Shadows tower will be really difficult. Very well, I'll have my men prepared and ready to go with you, you'll need serious back up to do this. And I'm sure you need supplies as well, then take anything you need." - he announced - "The Greatland has many dangers that are unknown to you, so you'll need help, and the Warmya Kingdom is honored to serve you."

"We're very grateful, Your Highness." - the crystal mage said and the King nodded.

"My fine lady." - the King gestured to Henny - "I see you are here for another reason as well. Please, speak."

"Indeed I am, Your Highness." - she bowed down once rather quickly - "I wish to apply to become part of the Royal Army, alongside my partner, Orion." - she gestured to the Xeedwox who lowered his head as if he were bowing down too, then both saluted.

"Oh, that's great." - he clapped twice then a few guards entered the room - "Please, take this lady to register herself and her friend to the Royal Army and begin their tests immediately."

After hearing that Henny became really excited! Her dream was going to become truth!

"Thank you, Your Highness." - she and Orion bowed once more - "Now, if you'll excuse me, it's time for my registry." - both then left with two of the guards.

"Now, see that our visitors are properly fed, geared and rested. Here, take this with you." - he handed Aerrow a piece of paper that looked like a ticket - "This will give you the right to instantly request a table at the best restaurant in town."

"We appreciate your help, King Eridius. I hope we'll be successful." - the red haired boy said.

"I hope so too, if we'd like to keep living in a peaceful world." - Eridius said solemnly.

He could feel something wrong was going on in the Greatland and he really hoped it'd not become another war. His people shouldn't suffer again, he just couldn't bear it. The Storm Hawks bowed and accompanied the guards that indicated the way they should go to get to the restaurant.

* * *

Cyclonis was inside a very dark room, she lit up a panel in front of her that illuminated the room with red light coming from all the keys and buttons. There was also a red holographic screen that only showed some kinds of commands.

The young Empress typed something on the keyboard and her command appeared written on the screen, along with some icons indicating that a squadron of Night Crawlers had been sent to patrol, another for reckon and another one to hunt down the Storm Hawks.

* * *

After a few minutes walking, the Storm Hawks were standing in front of a huge fancy restaurant, called Iyi Plaka, with several golden adornments around the large door. They entered. The place was half full, the attendant that was next to the toilet came to them.

"How can I help?" - he asked politely.

"We would like a table for six, please." - Aerrow said.

"Do you have reservations?" - the man asked - "And I'm sorry, but pets aren't allowed inside."

Radarr growled. Who was he calling a pet?! He should show him a thing or two and...! Before he even finished his thoughts, his sky knight blocked his way, so he wouldn't attack the attendant. Oh, well, maybe another time.

"Not really. King Eridius just gave us this ticket so we could request a table for six." - Piper explained while Aerrow handed the man the piece of paper.

The attendant skeptically looked at the ticket, but then he gasped: it was truly King Eridius' seal and signature!

"Did you say a table for six?" - he asked to be sure he heard it right.

"You heard it. Radarr is coming with us, he's a part of our squadron." - the green eyed boy told him, while the co-pilot nodded then smirked at the attendant.

"A table for... Six... Is coming on the best side of the restaurant for the visitors." - the man bowed.

They all sat over a round table. In clockwise order, there was Piper, Aerrow, Radarr, Stork, Junko and Finn. The waiter handed them six menus.

"May I take your order, please?" - the waiter asked.

"Hm... It's kinda hard to choose. I've never seen any this stuff before." - Finn said while trying to read the words from the menu. So many weird names! And what would the food be like?

Stork started trembling thinking the same Finn did. What if they were allergic to the food or if that kind of food was toxic for them? Oh, the dangers of eating in a strange place... One bite of the wrong food and you're dead. They were totally doomed for sure!

"Problems trying to decide what to eat?" - a voice spoke to them, snapping Stork out of his paranoia.

"Henny!" - Junko greeted excited - "You got here just in time. We have no idea of what they serve here and I'm starving!" - he had a pouty expression on his face, which made him look like a baby that was about to cry because he was hungry.

"Well, tell me what you used to eat when you were in the Atmos, I can help you choose something like it." - Henny suggested as she sat on a table close to theirs along with Orion.

They commented how was some of the food and the girl showed several similar options, then they asked a huge feast. When the waiter brought all the food, he was sweating from carrying so much weight. Suddenly, he tripped on Orion's long tail and almost let all the lunch go to waste, but Junko caught him in time, helping him up and placing the food on the table.

"Careful there, buddy." - the wallop said to the waiter who shrugged awkwardly and thanked his help.

"I'm terribly sorry. Orion didn't notice he was on the way." - Henny apologized while the Xeedwox hid his tail under their table, so nobody else would trip on it again.

Once everything was set on the table, Junko devoured one third of the food in a matter of seconds and he was starting the second third. If the others didn't eat fast, there'd be nothing left for them!

"Wow! You eat faster than Orion!" - the Warmyan said and the wallop smiled sheepishly.

"Yeah. He defeated the Colonel in a duel of poisonous food too." - Finn patted his best friend on the shoulder.

"Impressive!" - she said, the Storm Hawks were really awesome, even when it came down to such trivial things like a competition with hazardous food!

"Hey, Henny, how did your test go? Did you join the Royal Army?" - Piper asked.

"Yes, we did! We'll have some special training tomorrow morning and they even gave me these leather protections!" - she showed them the protections on her shoulders, elbows, wrists and chest.

"That's awesome, you go girl!" - Finn elbowed her lightly and she smiled at him.

"I'm going to the crystal mines to get some special armor made only there." - she told them - "I wanted to ask if you're interested in going there too. You could get upgrades for your own armor and weapons as well."

"That'd be great!" - Aerrow said - "We really could use some new tech."

"So you do use crystals around here. Is there any chance we'll find fuel crystals?" - Piper asked.

"Of course! Although we prefer to use the creatures from here as alternative transportation instead of those machines you have, we have many crystals, the King will provide all you need." - the foreign girl replied.

* * *

Domiwick was trying to remember the path he had made from that small beach to the castle. It was a bit hard to record any reference points when he was running away from the deadly beasts. He reached a fork in the way.

"I'm not completely sure of which path I came from." - he said to himself - "Do you happen to know about a small village nearby?" - he asked to the Night Crawlers.

They silently stared at each other in thought, three of them shaking their heads negatively, but one of them seemed to know about that. He quickly ran ahead taking one of the paths to scout and check if the village was there. Once he confirmed his suspicion, he signaled to the rest of the group, so they'd follow.

"Ah, yes, this is where I came from." - he said upon seeing the village - "Now, would you do me a solid before we go there? I need to gather some information about this village, but they're hostile. Can you give me a hand?"

The Night Crawlers nodded and started speaking some weird language to the natives. They seemed to understand them and allowed Domiwick to collect all the information he needed. After some interviews with the help of a Night Crawler "translator" and some pictures, the explorer led the squadron to the small beach.

"Here we are." - he told them - "This path underwater leads to the lake from Terra Aquanos."

Suddenly a huge beast jumped from the water, making a loud and high pitched noise, causing the blond man scream in horror, then it dove back on the water. Regaining his composure, he continued.

"But as you can see, it's filled with the Domiwick Beasts." - he gestured to the lake calmly, while the Night Crawlers glanced at each other confused. "Domiwick Beasts"? Was that how he named the white-fang whales? Lame.

Pushing that subject aside, the Captain of the squadron called Cyclonis.

"Master, we found the entrance. It leads to the lake from Terra Aquanos." - he told her.

" _That's perfect._ " - she spoke through the communicator.

Back in her room, she continued.

"You may return, mark the path all the way back. I'll send another party to scout and map the waters with him later." - she ordered and turned the communicator off.

She was smirking. Everything was happening the way she needed it to happen, her plans would flourish after all. Now she just had to wait for an update from the squadron she had sent after the Storm Hawks.

* * *

After a nice meal, the Storm Hawks and their two foreign friends left the restaurant and made their way towards an excavation area with several deposits of crystals.

"These are the crystal reserves." - Henny showed them around - "We can get how many cases we want, because the King has given you his permission."

"Score!" - Finn said.

"What exactly would be the armor upgrades you were talking about?" - Stork was interested, maybe he could upgrade the Condor's armor as well with that technique.

"I'll show you!" - she said.

Henny led them to a room that looked like a kind of forge, but it was different. There was no heat in the hearth, just several types of crystals.

"This is a crystal imbuing forge." - she explained - "It's how we upgrade our armor, let me demonstrate."

The lilac girl removed her violet vest and threw it inside the forge, then activated the smithy. Suddenly, all the crystals started glowing and shot beams of energy on the vest. The bright white light formed around the vest due to the combination of all the colors was really intense, everyone shielded their eyes. A few seconds later, the light faded and the vest was floating inside the forge. The foreign girl grabbed it and equipped it.  
She focused a bit, and then the vest hardened and expanded a little, turning into a larger piece of armor. She grabbed a spear that was resting on a table nearby, then turned to them.

"Now, blast me with anything." - she told them, but they were a bit hesitant - "C'mon, it's okay, you won't harm me."

Aerrow lit up his blade and shot a bolt of crystal energy towards her. Once the bolt struck her, the armor formed a force shield, absorbing the energy from the blast and sending it to her weapon that glowed slightly upon receiving it. Everyone was speechless.

"The crystal imbued armor absorbs any crystal powered attack and sends the energy to power up our weapons." - she explained.

"Cool!" - the sharpshooter was impressed - "Beating the Night Crawlers with these will be a piece of cake!"

"But the force field can't do this indefinitely, it has a limit. Either a huge amount of energy in one single blast or several blasts combined can overload the shield and break through it." - she warned them.

"So they're like the shields from the Terra Bogaton scientists, but upgraded." - the sky knight commented.

"Also, they can't protect us from ammo like arrows and bullets or weapons like your swords. The crystal effect on them will be blocked, but the projectile and the blade themselves won't." - she told them while she demonstrated it by poking the tip of her spear against the fabric of her vest and then showing them how it still punctured the leather.

"Thanks for warning us about that, Henny. The shields will be really useful, but we can't think we're invincible with them." - Piper said - "They'll still help a lot when we fight the Night Crawlers, though, because they have a lot of crystal based firepower."

"Indeed. I was actually wondering if there was anyway to do that for the Condor. She needs an upgrade like that." - Stork mentioned.

"Well, I don't think we have a forge big enough to convert the whole armor of your ship at once, unless we remove all the parts of the ship's hull and pile them up in our larger forge." - she told him - "Would that be a problem?"

"Not at all, as long as we keep her somewhere very guarded while we do it." - the merb said - "And as long as nobody leaves marks on the hull." - he muttered.

"Then consider it done!" - she said happily - "Now I'll show you the weapon upgrades." - she started leading everyone to another room.

But all of a sudden, they heard a commotion coming from a tunnel on the mines.

"What was that?" - Junko asked.

"I don't know, but that's not normal." - Henny told them.

"Then let's go check it out!" - Aerrow said.

Inside the tunnel, there was a lot of dust in the air and they couldn't see anything but shadows. After observing the shadows, they recognized that those were Night Crawlers. Henny gasped.

"Why are the Hooded Shadows here in Warmya?" - she whispered.

"They're probably after us." - Piper whispered back.

They saw the Night Crawlers walking towards them, and hid behind a rock as their shadows passed by it. One of them lifted his hand and turned on his communicator.

"We got everything we need from the mines. Have you dealt with the King yet?" - he spoke.

" _We're about to bust the Throne Room open._ " - the voice said through the communicator.

"Great. Once the King falls, this reign will follow." - he said smirking and laughed a bit.

The Storm Hawks and the two partners gasped. They had to do something or the King of Warmya would be done for!

 


	5. Episode 53 - Part 4

  **Episode 53 - Warriors From Affair**

**Part 4 - Trouble in Warm Town**

At the King's palace, the situation was about to become tense when a group of Night Crawlers invaded the throne room after easily defeating all the guards. The doors exploded open, and the squadron swarmed the room, surrounding the King. The Leader of Warmya Reign just looked around solemnly and slowly got up from his fancy chair.

"What do you want?" - he asked.

"You know the Storm Hawks are here." - the Captain Night Crawler said - "We're after them, and you'll tell us where they are."

"And why should I do that?" - Eridius began stalling them. The Night Crawler smirked.

"Our Master won't take 'no' for an answer." - he said and pointed the gun on his arm at the man - "Now show us their exact location."

"Well, if you insist..." - he said while climbing down the stairs.

He stood in the middle of the room, staring at the dark soldiers, then calmly closed his eyes. Suddenly a burst of orange light exploded in the room, blinding all the enemies, and a wave of crystal energy coming from his crown knocked them all down, except for the Captain who managed to retaliate. The evil soldier back flipped to get back on his feet and used a warp crystal to teleport away. The King used his special ability, disabling all the enemy weapons, except for raw crystals themselves. He fell on his knees, panting a bit, because deactivating too many weapons at once had cost too much energy. But at least he was safe... Well, he _was_. Suddenly the Captain of the Night Crawlers teleported right behind him.

"Unfortunate choice." - the Captain said, then blasted Eridius with a crystal, trapping him inside a red force field with reddish energy cuffs on both his wrists and his ankles.

* * *

Meanwhile, the Storm Hawks were still hiding behind a rock, trying to figure out how the Night Crawlers knew they were in Warmya.

"Obviously Cyclonis has some sort of device that tracked us and she sent her elite squadron behind us. But what kind of device and how it works is a mystery." - Piper said.

"I only know of one thing that can do something like that: the Shadow Mirror. It's a mirror that shows everything that happens in the Greatland." - Henny explained - "Nobody has ever seen it, we only heard of it in legends, because it was supposed to have been lost forever!"

"Then if she managed to gain access to something that should be lost, there's no way to tell what she can do with the technology she has. That's really bad news." - Aerrow said - "Is there anyway to counter it? We can't afford being watched like that."

"If we get out of this, we can search through some books on the local library. I'm pretty sure there is a way." - the girl told him.

Suddenly, one of the Night Crawlers realized they were being observed and shot at the rock where the eight were hiding. A dense cloud of dust filled the cave. Another soldier unleashed an energy wave from a leech crystal, to deactivate all the enemy weapons. Not long after, Junko came from the dust and charged at five Night Crawlers at once with all his strength, knocking them all out. Since the weapons were powerless, they had to fight hand to hand.

Radarr jumped on the head of one of the soldiers and used his tail to block his view, while he grabbed hold of another soldier close by and began to bite him to bring him down. Finn screamed while ducking as a Night Crawler almost chopped his head off with the sharp claws on his gloves. Then the sharpshooter knocked him down by hitting his crossbow across his face, leaving him unconscious.

"What do you know? This is actually even better than shooting at them!" - he smiled, then proceeded to swing his crossbow again to hit another nearby enemy, only to earn a kick on the belly that sent him flying and made him hit his back on the cave's wall - "Or maybe not." - he said while his eyes spun.

Piper moved her torso backwards to avoid being hit by one of her opponents, then spun around, knocking out three enemies with a single blow of her staff. Aerrow fought with four at the same time. He knocked one down with a low kick, then punched another one on the face three times. When a third one tried to flank him, he ducked out of the way, making his enemy hit his own ally instead, then pushed both to the ground. He wrestled a bit with the last one, that was pressing him against the floor, but he managed to use that position to his advantage, kicking the Night Crawler and making him fly over him, hitting his head on the wall.

Henny was fighting a soldier as well, but she was struggling a bit. Her hair was often getting stuck on her crystal imbued vest, limiting her movements and lowering her guard. She was cornered by the Night Crawler and was about to be attacked, when Orion acted. The Xeedwox hardened his caudal fins and hit the dark soldier hard on the head with his tail, knocking him out instantly.

"You did it, Orion!" - the girl praised her partner - "Good job, now it's my turn!"

She then grabbed several needle shaped firebolt crystals and threw them towards two other Night Crawlers, electrifying them. Both partners high fived.

Suddenly, one of the Night Crawlers tossed a crystal on the ground that shot out a burst of light. Orion shielded Henny's eyes and she touched his head while her eyes started glowing blue, just like his. When the light faded, they all saw the Night Crawlers were gone.

"Yeah! That's it! Run away! You can't do anything with the Finnster here!" - the sharpshooter said, and Piper just shook her head at that. Finn would always be Finn.

"Hm... There's something wrong." - Aerrow said - "I still feel like we didn't stop them. Cyclonis still must be planning something."

"Henny, is there anything valuable in the cave?" - Piper asked.

"Not really, there are many crystals, but I don't know why would she be interested in them if she's in the Hooded Shadow's tower." - the girl replied - "Still, I saw the Hooded Shadow who blinded everyone taking five crystals with him." - then she grabbed the same crystals from the mine to show them.

"A nil crystal, an enhancement crystal, a firebolt crystal... Huh?" - Piper was listing - "I-Is that a Medulla Crystal?" - she simply couldn't believe there was actually more than one of that.

"Yes. And this other one is a decay crystal." - Henny said.

"Did you just say a ' _decay_ crystal'?" - Stork was now really interested in knowing about that particular one.

"This crystal has that name because it literally makes anyone struck by a blast from it decay and die almost instantly." - she told him.

Everyone had their eyes wide open in shock.

"I don't know why Cyclonis didn't grab lots of those and kill us all already, then." - the blonde boy said in disbelief.

"Well, the user is also affected by the decay, though it'll kill him overtime, not right away." - the lilac girl explained.

"I wonder what Cyclonis plans to do with those crystals she stole." - Piper commented. She was sure it was going to be something really bad.

"What _I_ wonder is why they just left like that." - Aerrow said - "Why didn't they try to finish us off when they had the chance?"

"Exactly!" - Piper suddenly realized, startling Aerrow - "It was all just a distraction to keep us away from something much more important!"

"The Reignition Stone! It's an ancient and powerful crystal that keeps the energies of all the living beings on the kingdom in balance!" - Henny warned - "Each reign has its own. Ours is guarded in a shrine that can only be accessed..."

* * *

In the Throne Room, the King was inside the force field, completely defenseless. The Captain of the Night Crawlers reached out his hand inside the field and snatched the orange crystal from the crown.

"...by using the Guardian Crystal." - she finished.

The Night Crawler smirked. They had the key, now all they needed was the crystal, then their mission would be complete. He pointed his gun at the King and was about to shoot him, when he heard a loud noise and suddenly the doors were pushed so hard they came off of the walls, hitting various dark soldiers. The captain turned around and all he saw was a blurry Aerrow coming towards him fast as lightning, knocking him to the floor with a swift flying roundhouse kick.

"Guess your master will have to be disappointed today." - the leader of the Storm Hawks said as he landed in front of him.

The Night Crawler quickly got up, then all began to fight.

Henny gave Orion a signal to unleash his burst of light again, but when he started to open his mouth one of the Night Crawlers launched a net and a rope on him, closing his mouth shut and also preventing him from moving.

"Orion! Hang on!" - she said as she ran to the Xeedwox.

Before she could help him, the Night Crawler came in front of her and pushed her to the floor, pointing his gun at her. She tried to retaliate, only to be prevented by her own hair getting stuck on her vest again. That was just not helping!

The dark soldier felt someone poking his shoulder. He turned his head and Finn punched him very strongly in the face, then kicked his legs, knocking him out. After that, he helped the girl remove the net and the rope that were trapping Orion.

"Thank you, Finn." - she smiled at him, but then she winced when she felt her hair getting stuck on her vest once more.

"You're having a hard time there, aren't you?" - he frowned a bit. That must hurt!

"I'll take care of that." - Piper said while walking towards the two - "Cover us." - she told Finn.

The dark skinned girl created a small shield protecting Henny and herself, while the sharpshooter stood outside, looking around for enemies. Suddenly, several shots came in his direction. He screamed as he dodged them all, then he proceeded to fire back.

"Are you done yet?" - the blonde boy asked urgently, frowning in despair.

"Almost ready." - Piper told him.

"Well, then hurry it up! I can't hold them off forever!" - he rushed them while ducking from a bolt of energy coming at him, then shooting towards where it had come from.

The navigator just shook her head. She finished helping Henny undo her braids and tie her hair in a soft knot, leaving the tips free.

"There, that should do the trick." - she said.

"Ah! Thanks, Piper." - the foreign girl said as the crystal mage smiled.

Much better! Now she could move freely and easily aim her weapons to shoot her needle crystals.

The fight continued in the same tone, until one of the Night Crawlers threatened Eridius with a firebolt crystal. If anyone moved, he would destroy the King. Aerrow looked at Piper and saw she quickly picked up a Binding Crystal. At first he hesitated a bit, thinking about how the use of the Binding had severely damaged her, but she stared back at him, letting him know he should go for it. Since he was the one nearest to the King, he ran towards him to rescue him, so the soldier aimed his gun at the sky knight and shot towards the boy, while also shooting a bolt of energy from the crystal towards his hostage.

" _Speed of Light!_ " - the crystal mage said. A red light enveloped her and her leader, who had acquired super speed and in a movement as quick as a flash, deflected both the shot and the bolt of energy. Then he kicked the Night Crawler's hand, taking the firebolt crystal from him.

"It's over. You've been caught." - the red-haired boy said.

"You think so?" - the soldier just smirked.

"Aerrow! The captain is not in here!" - Junko warned him.

Oh, no... The shrine!

"Over there!" - the King pointed to the general direction the shrine was.

"Piper!" - the sky knight called her, so she could hit him again with her power. He didn't really want to make her do it, but they had to.

" _Falcon's Flight!_ " - she summoned her power again, making him fly really fast and break through the wall where Eridius had pointed at.

He quickly reached the red eyed captain who was about to take the Reignition Stone from a pillar. He charged at him, but when he was about to hit the dark soldier, the Night Crawler teleported using a warp crystal, then reappeared on the other side of the shrine and took the crystal in his hands. Aerrow squinted his eyes in rage as the captain vanished with the crystal.

The sky knight fell to his knees and punched the ground. Piper ran to his side and placed a hand on his shoulder, while the rest got to the shrine.

"He took the crystal." - the boy said while staring angrily at the ground.

"It's okay. Warmya can survive without it for a wile. But I fear Cyclonis is trying to do something terrible with it in the near future, and we can't let that happen." - Eridius told him.

"We won't." - Aerrow assured the King as he stood up, shrugging off Piper's hand in the process - "We'll go after them right away." - he was determined to stop Cyclonis.

"No." - the King quickly responded - "Without the Reignition Stone we've become more vulnerable, so I won't be able to mobilize my forces just yet. I think it'd be best if you recruited the help of the other kingdoms. I'll write a formal request for their aid. And I'll have you, Henny and Orion, escort the Storm Hawks to a few nearby reigns, to deliver my letter."

"Yes, your majesty!" - both partners bowed.

"We'll all need to be prepared for what is to come. Rushing in now in the situation we are will result in our defeat." - Eridius explained - "I'll order your armor, weapon and transport upgrades to be done today. And you can replenish your supplies for your journey through all the kingdoms."

The squadron nodded in agreement with that new plan. It was indeed better to play safe for the time being, considering how the Night Crawlers had easily tracked them down and even stolen a powerful crystal for their already vast arsenal.

"We'll help you out too. We've been fighting the Cyclonians for quite some time, so we can help you build up some defenses." - Piper told the King.

"I humbly accept your help and I am very grateful." - he said, then everyone bowed to the King and left.

* * *

The Storm Hawks were preparing for departure, which would be early in the morning. For the rest of the day, the squadron helped improve the defense of the palace: Piper showed some techniques with crystals in a kind of laboratory to some of their experts.

"Look" - she said when she combined a frost crystal with a geyser crystal, turning them into a powerful weapon capable of creating large explosions of ice and water. She tossed them at a combat dummy, demonstrating the power of that hybrid bomb, while they stared in awe and smiled.

* * *

Finn taught some of his skills with the crossbow to the wing-men in the courtyard of sports competitions.

"I was once the leader of the Ultra Dudes!" - he said while all his "apprentices" looked at each other with confused expressions, wondering who were the "Ultra Dudes", but Finn didn't lose his composure - "And I taught them there's nothing better than a perfect shot." - he aimed his crossbow and with a single shot that ricocheted off the walls, hit ten targets - "Chick-cha!" - he did his signature move as usual.

The others tried to do the same, but failed. They just didn't have such a good aim as Finn did.

"Keep trying, you'll get the knack for it." - he crossed his arms smiling. He simply loved the idea of training his own wing-men squadron!

* * *

Stork set up various traps and alarms for the dark soldiers in the garden.

"Okay, this was the last one." - he concluded, but when he turned around to go back, he was in trouble because he couldn't remember where he had set up some of the traps he had planted underground. He walked gingerly, but unfortunately stepped on a trap, activating it.

"Oh, no." - he muttered.

Suddenly, several knives were thrown at him from a tree. He screamed in horror while ducking. Then, many thorns began to sprout from the ground behind him. He ran and jumped in despair over a large rock, where he was at last safe... For now...

Meanwhile, Junko explained to a few engineers how make the buster bombs.

"These here I call Turkey Burps." - he showed them the bomb and threw it very far, to demonstrate its power - "Oops. I think I swung too hard." - he shrugged awkwardly while picking up another bomb. He was a bit worried: he had to hope it wouldn't hurt anyone.

The bomb fell and exploded near the rock where Stork was sitting on, activating another trap.

"I'll be doomed." - he sighed.

A crack opened in the ground, the stone broke in half, then a catapult came from the ground and launched the merb in the air. He was going hit the ground really hard.

"I just hope my death will be quick and painless." - the pilot said and began to scream.

About to touch ground, Stork closed his eyes and clenched his teeth. That was it. Or so he thought.

"Ah... Hi, Stork. Sorry for the bomb." - the wallop said.

Stork opened his eyes and saw he was not dead, Junko had grabbed him right before he smashed against ground. The merb gave a half laugh and sighed in relief.

* * *

Aerrow and Radarr were making sure the guards were well equipped and prepared for possible future attacks.

"Okay, let's see some battle stances." - the sky knight said, as he walked by a row of guards who showed him their fighting styles - "Good. Nice. Cool. Great!" - until he stopped in front of one of them. His jaw dropped and his eyes shot wide open.

He was staring at a totally sloppy guard in a position that looked very strange and reminded him of when Stork had joint stiffness after the Condor had been swallowed by the Leviathan. Aerrow and Radarr looked at each other with creeped out expressions, then the first decided to comment.

"Hm... Well... Your style is very... Ah... Different." - he said awkwardly - "But I think we can improve it."

With the help of his co-pilot, the leader set that guard in a proper position to fight, which inspired him more confidence. The guard even nodded happily after being helped.

"Keep practicing it." - the boy added with a confident smile.

* * *

Henny gave her other two Xeedwoxes to the King, so they would work as guardians of the palace, since they didn't have owners yet. Moone brushed her head against Orion's neck when they said goodbye, making the male Xeedwox shyly cover his head with one of his wings. The lilac girl just giggled at the reaction of her partner and patted him on the back of his neck.

* * *

A bit later, the Storm Hawks worked with the blacksmiths and the miners to upgrade the Condor's armor and also their skyrides. Once the huge ship was finished, Stork just wouldn't stop staring at it in awe.

"She's so gorgeous..." - he said and his eyes sparkled as if he were day dreaming about his love.

Indeed, the ship was prettier. Thanks to the crystal imbuing process, its armor had a permanent light blue soft glow. But that wasn't the only upgrade they had. They also added to the engine room a special system with several enhancement crystals that could double the power supply and the efficiency of the Condor's engine, making it a much faster ship that spent half the fuel it used to.

Their skimmers and the heliscooter had been upgraded the same way, and that gave the heliscooter an edge, since now it had upgraded speed, defenses and was still the best ride to maneuver. Piper smiled at that. It would certainly make her able to properly help the guys at last, since they were a bit overprotective because she was an easy target in her skyride, so she would be often stuck inside the ship planning their tactics.

"Now we have to upgrade your personal armor." - an old Warmyan blacksmith said.

"Sure, but... Can I ask you a favor?" - Aerrow said, than he whispered something on the old foreign man's ear.

"Hm... I'll see to it. I can't do it myself, but I'll see if my wife can, she's great at those kinds of things." - he said - "Just bring them here and she'll have them fixed up in no time." - he smiled - "Now, about your other request. Care to help me design it?"

"Of course! I was about to ask if I could help with that, actually." - the sky knight smiled happily.

Both entered a room and proceeded to work on Aerrow's order.

* * *

It was in the middle of the night, everybody was sleeping in separate rooms in the King's palace, except for Piper, who was still trying to master her new powers. She was sitting on the floor beside her bed, telepathically levitating some Binding Crystals. She tried to learn new summons and she was about to get to it, when she heard a knock on the door that made her drop all the crystals.

"Oh..." - she sighed, that required so much concentration and all her progress had been lost, still, she quickly put up a neutral face - "Come in."

A blond boy opened the door and came inside.

"Excuse me, can you stop a little? This light you make is disturbing my beauty sleep." - he placed a hand on his chest and closed his eyes full of himself - "Do you have any idea how hard it is to preserve my irresistible charm?"

"Of course. Anything else actually useful to say, Finn?" - the girl replied somewhat irritated, but then she stared downwards with some remorse for being so harsh. The sharpshooter felt a little uncomfortable.

"Ah... Listen, you gotta take a break sometimes." - he said as she looked back at him - "You only talk about hard work all the time. Relax, learn with the Finnster." - he looked at the mirror on the door of the wardrobe, stroked his hair with his hand and made his signature "Chick-cha", causing Piper to laugh a bit - "Irresistible, huh?" - he said and she just shook her head with a smile on her face.

"Okay, I'll go to bed. You can rest your 'beauty sleep'." - she told him with a happier tone.

The boy was going out to the corridor, when she called:

"Finn..." - she said as he turned his torso slightly to the side - "Thanks." - she nodded approvingly at his slightly more selfless attitude.

"No problem." - he replied - "Night, Piper." - he turned around and held up an arm, waving at her briefly as he went back to his room.

"Night, Finn." - she closed her door shut.

* * *

The night had passed and it was almost dawn, when the Warmyans made their final preparations on the Condor before it could take off. A young boy carrying a large backpack quickly ran to Aerrow.

"Mister, your request is done." - he said while opening the backpack and handing the sky knight some packages.

"Great! Thanks." - he patted the boys head, messing his hair a bit - "Tell your grandfather I said thank you."

"Will do, mister!" - the boy saluted and ran back to his grandfather's shop.

"Hey, Aerrow, what's it you have there?" - Finn was curious.

"Our new upgraded armor set." - the green-eyed boy told him as he opened all the packages.

"Woah!" - Junko said as he looked at his old uniform completely patched up, with no sewing marks and glowing slightly from the crystal imbuing process, he also had gained some extra pieces of armor to cover his vulnerable points more properly.

The same had been done to all the other uniforms, and Piper's had even received a very pretty and unique armor plate set.

"This is awesome! They're even cooler than the uniforms Carver got for us." - the blonde boy was excited.

"I studied the crystal imbuing process a bit and I saw that barrier can actually protect us from infections and foreign diseases! So this upgrade is exactly what we needed." - Stork said while he picked up his uniform with a soft smile on his face.

Radarr had just finished dressing up on his upgraded uniform and he was jumping happily: he loved his new armor set!

Piper just stared at her new uniform in awe. Her armor plate set was just gorgeous. All the plates were smaller than the other's, so they looked more feminine. The plates for the shoulders and arms were attached to the side of the arm, similar to the way Aerrow's plates are attached. It had plates for her knees, her shins and the tips of her boots were also protected by non-removable plates. The plates for her chest were made to give room for her breasts, so she could be protected without sacrificing her comfort, and they were directly attached to the plates that would protect her belly. Both her uniform and her armor plate set sparkled, they stood out a bit, compared to the others.

She had her hands clasped together in front of her heart when she turned her head to look at her leader.

"Why all this, Aerrow?" - she somehow guessed he probably helped design the armor, because the measures were way too accurate for something made without her there to serve as a model.

"Your uniform didn't have proper protection. We can't risk you getting hurt now that Cyclonis is so powerful." - he told her.

"I can see that." - she just shook her head while smiling - "But what I meant is: why so much attention to the details?" - she crossed her arms as she gave him a curious and slightly mischievous look.

Oh, that question. In truth, he didn't know why himself. And the look on her face... It was as if she expected a specific answer from him... But what could it be?

"Well... I don't know." - he rubbed the back of his head - "I didn't even realize I had paid so much attention to that, it just happened." - he shrugged - "I guess some of your perfectionism rubbed off on me." - he smiled teasingly as he nudged her arm lightly with his elbow.

He noticed she didn't think it was the actual answer, but luckily for him, she didn't try to interrogate him. Maybe she knew the answer even though he didn't. And of course she did, she knew he had done that to cheer her up, to make her feel useful and an important member of the team, therefore, she could only beam at him gratefully. He realized he could read her a bit again and that she could read him too. That made him feel relieved: their bond wasn't damaged after all. He smiled. Perhaps everything that had happened lately was meant to actually strengthen it. He had found out he was her partner, not her knight in shining armor. It was probably a good thing, right?

His thoughts left his mind as he saw King Eridius coming closer to talk to them.

"Thank you, Storm Hawks, for all the help. A pity you can't stay longer." - the King spoke.

"We appreciate the hospitality and we hope the Night Crawlers won't come back here." - Aerrow said.

"I would like to give you something." - Eridius mentioned, then a servant appeared with a box and opened it: inside, six crystals with some liquid within were attached to thin short strings.

"What are those?" - Piper asked as she picked one of the crystals up carefully.

"These trinkets have a little of the Thought Through's essence." - he explained while the servant carried the box, showing it to everyone of the Storm Hawks, who picked a crystal up - "Each one of them can answer one question, so use them wisely when you need help to figure out something important."

"Wow! That'll surely be really helpful!" - the sky knight said as he stared at his crystal.

Then a shadow quickly passed by, drawing his attention: it was Henny and Orion flying above them. The two landed near the group.

"We're ready for our mission, Your Majesty." - the girl said as both partners bowed.

"Then you will need the Reignition Amulets to keep your energy in balance while you're outside." - Eridius said as he ordered his servants to bring the amulets.

"How about your people? How are you gonna hold up without the Reignition Stone?" - the crystal mage was worried about them.

"We'll all wear Reignition Amulets as well. They can keep us well for a good while." - the King explained, reassuring her they'd be fine.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." - Henny said as she put the amulet on - "Guys, can we go back home before we set off? I would like to leave a few things ready so everything will remain in order until I get back."

"Sure, sure. Take your time." - Finn said with his fists on his hips.

* * *

And so it was done: everyone went to Henny's house. She quickly organized her house and the place where the Xeedwoxes used to stay, though now it was empty.

"Done." - she said as she set up a sign saying she'd be out for sometime, so the Xeedwox taming house would be closed for a while.

"So you're going out." - a familiar voice spoke to her.

"It'll be temporary. I'm on a mission and when I'm done, I'll come back." - she told her old friend, Tyron.

"When do you think you're coming back?"

"I don't know for certain, but if we don't come across any trouble, it'll be pretty soon."

"I'd not be so sure, on a trip like this you might change your mind on the way and set off on a journey..." - he looked away.

"Don't worry. Besides the fact that I _have_ to come back to report to the King, I'd never leave my home forever, I'm already way too fond of this place to just go out on a journey." - she told him - "So you won't miss me for too long." - she said teasingly.

"I-I didn't say I... It's just..." - he was somewhat embarrassed - "I envy you." - he said quietly.

"Huh?" - she was a bit surprised by that.

"You're going out on a great adventure, while I'll have to stay here and do nothing." - he told her - "The only exciting things I did was to train with you, with Hansel fighting against Orion and to help out taming the Xeedwoxes. Now that you'll be away, this place will be really boring." - he put his hands behind his head, trying to look and sound as casual as possible, since he just confessed Henny was a source of fun.

"Thanks, Tyron." - she giggled - "It's okay, I'll compensate you. Can you do me a favor while I'm out?"

"Speak." - he said.

"I want you to take charge of the Xeedwox taming house for me. You'll also have to visit Warm Town every now and then to make sure Gyru and Moone are doing well in keeping the King's Palace safe."

"Did you just say Warm Town? As in, Warmya's capital? For real?" - he stammered surprised as she nodded affirmatively - "That's great! Leave it all to me, I won't let you down!"

Man! He was so excited! He had always wanted to visit the capital! The two had a handshake, Orion and Hansel hit each other's heads friendly, then the Warmyan girl and her Xeedwox flew towards the Condor where the others were waiting for them.

* * *

Inside the ship, the foreign pair was very anxious. They stared at everything in awe, they had never been on an aircraft like that! The Storm Hawks, already dressed in the upgraded uniforms were showing them around.

"Thank you so much for letting Orion and I stay on the Condor during our mission." - she said.

"We wouldn't let you two out there all the time." - Finn spoke.

The squadron led them to the vacant room that was supposed to be Starling's before the Condor was rebuilt. Now the decoration they had made was gone and the room looked very similar to the others.

"You think you'll be fine in here?" - Junko asked, he wanted their guests to feel comfortable.

"Absolutely! Than..." - before she could finish, Stork interrupted.

"Yes... But we'll have to do some tests and I'll have to collect DNA samples from you to study..." - but then it was the merb's turn to be interrupted.

"Stork! Stop it!" - Piper shouted when she saw the foreign pair's creeped out expressions - "Don't mind it, Henny. We don't need any exams in here." - she glared at the green skinned pilot who just shrugged with an indifferent expression - "Welcome, I'm really glad you two are coming with us."

"Thank you. I think Orion and I will feel at home." - she smiled.

"Ok, everyone, let's go to the bridge now for a reunion." - the sky knight said.

Once all were around the table, except for Stork who was by the helm, but still paying attention, the leader started:

"We gotta set a course. What's the closest reign on that letter King Eridius wrote?"

"The Morast Reign, it's a few miles west from here." - she told them.

"Uh... How does the new navigation system work? And how do we read it?" - the merb asked.

That was a good question. They had no idea of how to navigate. Piper would have to learn through Henny.

"It's a rather simple system. We get the coordinates from the northern lights. Piper brought some books, I'll show you more about the lights with them." - she explained - "To read the coordinates, we use this holographic map." - she pressed a button on the round table and a 3-D map appeared showing their location and their surroundings as if they were being seen by someone standing right where the northern lights were.

"Wow!" - everyone was astonished. Now THAT was technology!

"The Morast Reign is right over there." - she pointed to a swamp area on the map.

"Then let's set a course!" - Aerrow was about to give his order when he was interrupted.

"Wait! We shouldn't move just yet." - Piper warned - "We gotta get rid of that mirror's spell first, remember?"

That's right! How could he have forgotten?

"How are we gonna do this, then?" - Finn asked.

"I've read the books, looks like we have to create a compound using a cloaking crystal, an enhancer crystal, an oblivion crystal and a blocking crystal." - she told them - "The blocking crystal will create a barrier that'll help prevent us from being affected by the spell. The cloaking crystal will make finding us harder. The oblivion crystal will make the mirror 'forget' all our previous locations and also how to track us. And the enhancer crystal will make the effect of the compound stronger."

"Great job, Piper." - the leader said - "Let's get to work, guys."

After sometime, they had created the compound: it was a small deformed crystal. They put it on a very safe and hidden place and activated it. Then they set off to their destination.

* * *

Cyclonis was in the Shadow Mirror's room, looking at it showing the Storm Hawks, but suddenly, the mirror only showed a blank image. It could no longer show the Condor.

"So they figured out." - she smiled a bit disappointed, but still enjoying the fact that she made them worry and work hard to get away from her "eye that sees everything".

"Master." - a Night Crawler entered the room carrying 5 crystals with him - "We have the crystals." - he said as other soldiers appeared, one of them holding the Reignition Stone from Warmya in his hands.

"Good." - the young Empress smirked.

Even though the Storm Hawks escaped, her other plans were still going to work just fine. And they were going to cause big trouble for our heroes soon...

 

* * *

**NEXT EPISODE:**

**Episode 54** (parts 1, 2, 3 and 4)


	6. Episode 54 - Part 1

**Episode 54 - Brisk Marshes**

**Part 1 - Lost in the Swamp**

The day was calm, the Condor flew in the sky peacefully. Stork was in the bridge, piloting the ship among the gigantic pointy rocks from the Far Side. Aerrow and Junko were making some adjustments on the skimmers in the hangar. Finn was in his room, but for longer than usual: he was checking himself out for the fifth time in 20 minutes! He was paying much more attention to his appearance just because there was another girl around. He wanted to cause a good impression. Piper and Henny were in the kitchen preparing the breakfast.

"Henny, how do we cook this?" - the navigator pointed to a strange yellow dough that was on the table.

"You knead it for a little while, so it'll become very soft, then you put it on a tray and sprinkle some of this on it." - the foreign girl showed a small bottle with some green powder inside - "Then we bake it. We can also put a few droplets of this flask of Çulk to give the cake a tasty flavor when it's almost done baking. But don't put too much of it, that's a really bad experience."

Radarr and Orion were playing hide and seek. The two had bonded so well, they were nearly inseparable. Aerrow's co-pilot always found the best hiding places, since he was small, however, the Xeedwox could blend in really well among the shadows of objects and, since he could fly, he actually could hide in the ceiling, so he had his own advantages as well. The two were playing in the corridor, until they felt the delicious smell coming from the kitchen, so they decided to race there.

The crystal mage noticed the pastry was nearly done, so she opened the oven to put a few droplets of Çulk. While that, the two animals ran really fast, Radarr managing to surpass Orion, who slipped on a puddle of hair gel that was on the floor, so he slid uncontrollably by the corridor. Near the kitchen's door, the furry mission specialist turned around with a triumphant smile on his face, which quickly disappeared when he saw the dragon-like creature coming at him really fast with no way to stop. The collision sent the little Storm Hawk flying towards Piper, making her drop almost the whole content of the flask on the dough.

"Oh, no." - she said as the dough started glowing.

On the hangar, Aerrow cleaned the sweat from his face with his glove.

"Phew, we're done." - he smiled at the wallop.

"Yeah, they're good as new. Ah... Literally." - Junko commented.

Suddenly, they heard a loud explosion coming from inside the ship and immediately ran to see what was going on.

In the middle of a lot of smoke, Aerrow, Finn, Junko and Stork sprinted by the corridor. The smoke faded gradually, until the boys could see what had happened: Orion had fallen on top of Radarr, almost squishing him. Henny was lying face down with her arms stretched above her head and her legs bent upwards. Piper was lying with her back on the floor and her legs resting on the wall, as if she were sitting on it. The kitchen's door was obstructed by a huge spongy yellow cake.

"What happened?" - Finn inquired as he helped Henny up.

"Uh... Just a small problem with an extra spiced cake." - Piper said sheepishly while Junko lifted her from the ground.

"Are you okay?" - Aerrow asked them as he checked on Radarr, the blue furry animal nodding.

"Yeah, but I think the kitchen didn't have much luck." - the lilac girl said.

Junko approached the huge cake and after a moment eyeing it, took a nice bite of it, causing everyone to stare at him horrified. How could he...?

"Yummy! It's delicious!" - the wallop complimented the food while licking his lips - "Wanna some?" - he offered to the others.

"I'll pass..." - Stork shook his head and walked away.

"Well, it's more for me! I'll have the kitchen clean from it in no time!" - heavy ballistics specialist cheered and started eating the rest of the yellow cake.

"Guess that means no breakfast and lunch for a while." - the sharpshooter mumbled.

Then, they heard a sound, a pulse coming from the ship's scanner. They all sprinted to the bridge, leaving the wallop to his food.

"What's going on, Stork?" - Aerrow asked.

"Proximity alert. There's something really big coming towards us." - the merb said.

They observed the outside as the ship flew by an abyss. They saw a huge cloud like formation ahead that reminded them of the group of beasts that had attacked them a few days ago.

"Oh, c'mon, I didn't even eat today! I get in a really bad mood when I don't have breakfast!" - Finn complained.

"Finn, forget the food! We need to be ready in case those beasts are hostile." - Piper scolded him.

"More pteroeagles?" - the leader asked Henny.

"It can't be... We're still in the continental border, in a hot area. They'd not come this far inside the reign." - she said.

And she was right: as the ship approached, they saw the "cloud" was actually something solid filled with dots that was camouflaged in the environment.

"That thing looks kinda familiar..." - Stork commented as he put a hand on his chin - "It's almost like a giant mud eel."

Then suddenly, two huge eyes opened.

"What do you say?" - he smiled sarcastically - "I was right." - then frowned dismayed. Why being correct always meant their impending doom?

"GIANT MUD EEL!" - Finn yelled.

The huge brown eel moved its tail and whipped the Condor with it, making the ship spin in the air several times as it fell by the cliff's border, knocking everyone out in the process.

* * *

Dark, humid and hot. That's what the place Aerrow woke up at was like. There were many trees, lots of moss and the water was sticky, muddy. That place seemed to be some kind of swamp. The sky knight stood up and looked around: so far, no sign of his friends or the Condor. But what had happened? How did he get there? All he recalled was that he was inside the ship when they were attacked by...

"That eel! I remember now. I heard the Condor's glass breaking right before I fainted." - the memory quickly played in his head, then he looked around once more - "I just hope the others aren't too far. Huh?" - he heard a noise.

He wasn't alone. There was a bunch of natives observing him. They came out from behind the trees and bushes. He was unarmed and outnumbered, so he took one step backwards and at that he slipped on the mud and fell flat on his back. When he opened his eyes the first thing he saw was the sulky face of an old male staring at him way too close for his comfort, so he moved his head away slightly.

The native people were kinda exotic, their skin had a bluish green tone and was all wrinkly, they had six fingers on their hands and two toes on their feet, with thin membranes among them. They were dressed with simple clothes made of the aboriginal vegetation. They had rustic bows and arrows and spears with crystals as their pointy tips for weapons. They were also accompanied by beasts that looked like foxes but with fins and scales instead of fur.

"Who are you, stranger?" - the old man of the scowl inquired.

"I... I'm Aerrow, of the Storm Hawks. I came from the Atmos." - the boy said.

"Hm... An outsider. Looks harmless." - the man commented after briefly looking him over - "This is frontier number 7 of the 3rd quadrant of Morast Reign. I'm Khoj, Chief of the Muskeghy Village. What are you doing here?"

"You mean on the Far Side or here specifically?" - Aerrow asked, but upon receiving no answer, he quickly sighed and continued - "My squadron and I came to arrest a dangerous person that fled here after we stopped her from taking over all the Atmos. We were flying nearby when our ship was attacked by a giant mud eel and I ended up in here."

"A giant... 'Mud eel'? Oh, you mean the earthen worm." - the Chief told him.

"Well, its name doesn't really matter. I gotta find my friends." - the red haired leader said as he started walking away.

"You better not go that way. We've been trying to get a blonde guy out of that water for about half an hour." - Khoj said nonchalantly.

"Huh?" - Aerrow looked at the same direction he had and saw two natives trying to pull Finn out of a deep puddle by his shoulders, the kid had been stuck in there with water reaching his neck's level - "Finn! I'm glad you're okay." - he sprinted to him, taking care to avoid stepping on the water and sticking to solid ground.

"Define 'okay', because that's quite relative." - the sharpshooter said - "I don't think being stuck in this creepy place is good, no offense." - he motioned to the natives with his head - "There's sticky stuff in places I didn't even know existed and..."

"Uh, spare me of the details, Finn." - Aerrow interrupted feeling disgusted - "Do you know what happened to the others?"

"I have no idea, man. I only remember everything spinning around and something really heavy squishing me against a wall three or four times. I guess that was probably Junko. Then I woke up in here and when I gave one step forward, I fell in this nasty puddle..." - the memory was played as he told his story - "Ugh!" - the blue eyed boy stuck his tongue out, and the natives managed to pull him out - "Finally. You don't happen to have a bathroom with clean water and soap in here, do you?"

The two natives just exchanged confused glances as Aerrow face palmed at Finn's silliness.

"And what are these others you're looking for like?" - the Chief asked.

"There's a human girl, blue hair, dark skin; a merb, tall, green skin; a wallop, big guy, hard to miss; a black Xeedwox; a Warmyan girl and a... Hm..." - the sky knight rubbed the back of his head trying to define what kind of creature Radarr was - "Well, I never figured out his species, but he's short, with light blue fur, long tail and long ears."

"Well, we didn't see them anywhere, but I did send some search parties to look for survivors after I saw your ship fall from the sky. They can't be too far." - the native man turned around and walked on the water surface without sinking thanks to the impermeable membranes from his feet - "Come with us, get on these canoes, our Fenisces will escort you to our village." - he said as the beasts pushed the small boats so Aerrow and Finn could get inside them - "I'll have a few man track your ship's fall down, so we can find where it landed."

The redhead nodded as he and the blonde hopped into the canoes. Soon everyone was traveling by the unknown waters towards the Muskeghy village.

* * *

The hot breeze went and came. Stork was lying on a shallow lagoon of sticky water. The hot breeze went and came. He had fainted, but he was regaining his consciousness gradually. The hot breeze went and came again.

"What's this breeze in my face?" - the merb wondered and when he woke up, he saw two big and glowing blue eyes staring at him and a pointy nose breathing over him.

He let out a loud and high pitched cry of horror, then he got up really fast and turned to his right to run away, hitting his head squarely on a thick branch, making him fall flat on his back again. Moaning in pain, he slowly sat up, rubbing his aching forehead, then he noticed the creature was actually Orion.

"Oh, it's just you." - he said and the Xeedwox nodded.

The carrier pilot stood up once more, muttering something about how many diseases he might have contracted for having contact with that dirty water. He knew that new armor he had could protect him from them, but he wasn't really wearing any armor on his head...

"What if my blood's turned into acid and it's eroding my veins right now?!" - he shouted in paranoia - "That'd explain this weird burning sensation I feel all over my body." - he said almost too calmly while putting a finger over his chin in thought, as if accepting his eventual demise.

Orion just shook his head. Right... Of course the fact that if it were true the merb wouldn't be alive right then and there didn't matter at all. Sure... But the animal's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of bubbles popping coming from a shallow river behind them. The two looked at the source of the noise and saw a big yellow eye appear on the water surface.

"Eek!" - the green skinned Storm Hawk gulped.

Suddenly, the eyeball floated in the air, making loops and more loops that Stork followed with his stare, which made him dizzy. Then it attracted some mud towards it, creating a body in the form of a big snake with a large mouth filled with many thin, long and pointy teeth. The muddy creature let out a strident roar.

The merb screamed and ran away. The snake "melted" into the water then reappeared in front of him and tried to bite him, when Orion interfered and cut its head off with his sharp hardened tail fins, making the muddle fall back to normal, no longer controlled by the floating eyeball. The yellow eye retreated into the dense swamp vegetation after seeing its prey was well defended.

"Ha! You won't eat me today, you horrendous thing!" - Stork yelled triumphantly.

Orion was going to nod in agreement when he noticed there were hundreds of other muddy snakes coming from where the eyeball had fled to. His eyes widened at the sight.

"Uh-oh..." - the merb said quietly as his smile faded - "Run!"

He sprinted ahead, but the snakes were obviously faster, so they were quickly catching up with him. The Xeedwox flew after the carrier pilot and motioned with his head for him to jump on his back. The green guy didn't need to be told twice: he leaped as soon as the dragon-like creature got close enough.

The black beast was really fast, but it was hard to lose the horde of angry snakes.

"Maybe we should fly away from here." - Stork said.

Orion looked above them uncertainly, the tree tops looked way too dense to go through.

"They're right behind us!" - the merb urged.

The Xeedwox soared towards the sky, but he got tangled up in the branches and leaves. He tried to move to cut them free, but he was completely immobilized. He glared at Stork.

"Okay, that was a bad idea." - the green pilot laughed awkwardly as the black creature rolled his eyes and frowned annoyed. Now they'd have to wait for someone to find them! That was so embarrassing!

* * *

Henny felt as if the world was jumping around when she came to her senses. Well, she was moving alright. She opened her eyes and noticed someone was carrying her.

"Junko?" - she asked weakly.

"Oh, hey, Henny." - he said - "I couldn't wake you up when I found you, so I had to carry you." - he explained - "I doubt you can walk now, though."

"What do you mean?" - she didn't understand, then she looked at her legs and saw many huge purple mushrooms with yellow dots growing on them, causing her to scream horrified - "What happened?! What is this?!"

"I don't know, I found you with them already." - the wallop told her.

"Hm... I just hope this doesn't mean I'm sick." - she frowned. Who knew what kind of infection or allergy she could be carrying!

Junko took a few more steps when someone stopped him.

"Halt!" - a native man shouted.

The flight engineer blinked surprised and moved his hands to surrender, dropping Henny on the ground in the process. The lilac girl slowly lifted her torso from the shallow water and looked at him with a sad frown. He could have put her down more gently...

"Wait a second... You're the survivors!" - the man realized, then he touched the water and the image of Chief Khoj appeared - "Chief, I've found two of them."

" _Good, bring them to the village._ " - Khoj told him as his image disappeared.

"Wow! Cool!" - Junko was impressed by their way of communicating with each other.

"Yeah." - Henny agreed. She tried to push herself up but her legs were very sore because of the mushrooms growing on them.

"Woah! You have a nasty fungus formation there." - the man said - "You better be taken to the witchdoctors."

Both the man and Junko helped her up and the wallop carried her again, while the native led them to the village.

* * *

"Ow... My head..." - Piper muttered as she woke up and placed a hand on her forehead.

She looked around and noticed she was in a swamp with no sign of anyone or the Condor. Oh, great. She frowned as she got up. She stared at the water and decided not to step on it. It seemed to be a bit deep and it's not like she wished for a bath in a mud puddle at the moment.

She just stood there in thought.

"Now what do I do? Should I try to find the others or should I stay here so finding me would be easier?" - she put a hand on her chin.

Well, the second option was a bit relative, there were good chances that they'd never pass by that place. But just as she came to that conclusion, she heard a noise coming from a bush that questioned her logic.

"Radarr?" - she asked as she saw him running towards her, he had never been happier for seeing her - "Okay, that was just luck." - she still defended her first thought.

The small animal, though, gestured for her to run, because there was something scary chasing him. She didn't quite understand what was so scary, until she looked at the direction he had come from and saw something moving towards them: a huge mud crocodile was destroying trees on its way while charging at the two. Piper screamed and started running with Radarr right by her side.

"What did you do to make that thing so angry?" - she asked the little animal, and he just shook his head with a sad frown: he had no idea.

Piper just lowered her head. If she just had her crystals! At least, anything other than the Binding Crystal she carried everywhere. But then she blinked and looked to her side. What was that glowing in the distance? She squinted her eyes to focus her vision a bit more. Those were...

"Crystals!" - she shouted happily - "Radarr, let's go over there! Maybe there's something that might save us!" - she told him as they changed their path.

They made it to a small cave that had a few crystals embedded on the walls and on the ground. The huge muddy monster chased them but it couldn't make it past the tiny opening of the cave. That gave them sometime or so they thought it did. The creature melted and started to recompose itself inside the cave! The girl gasped and the co-pilot jumped in front of her protectively. He was going to try to hold that beast off somehow, but she doubted he'd last too long against that thing, so she worked as fast as she could.

"Okay, let's see... A rainbow smoker, a floater..." - she identified the crystals, looking for anything that could either shield them or damage that muddy creature - "C'mon..." - she prayed to find a useful crystal - "Yes! A geyser crystal and a warp crystal!" - she pulled both out of the wall.

She got up and faced the creature that was nearly formed inside the cave. She threw the geyser crystal at the monster and it ate it, then she ran towards Radarr, grabbed his paw and teleported them out of the cave as the muddy beast exploded because of the tiny blue crystal.

The small mission specialist cheered happily, he shook his feast as if he were saying: "Take that, you ugly monster!" Piper smiled at him, then walked to where the geyser crystal had fallen and picked it up. Who knows if they might need it again, better safe than sorry. At last, the two crewmates walked by the swamp, when they heard the sound of... Music? It was very faint, like a whistle. They decided to follow it, maybe they'd find other people or better yet, it could be their friends! They didn't waste time and ran towards the sound.

* * *

Piper and Radarr found a group of muddy snakes looking upwards. Maybe the music came from there! The navigator grabbed the geyser crystal, flicked it a few times to cause a perturbation and trigger its effect, then threw it in the middle of the snakes. The crystal let out a big explosion that destroyed all the snakes.

Above them, Stork and Orion were still stuck in the treetops of the swamp. The merb was whistling a random rhythm out of boredom and the Xeedwox didn't look any better either. Suddenly, they heard a loud sound of an explosion and they felt the trees shaking a bit.

The merb started whistling again but very faintly, it was like he could barely whistle anymore. He was quite nervous, and he was trying to calm himself down. Then, they heard a noise indicating there was something on the branches nearby.

Stork gulped and hid behind one of Orion's wings, preparing himself for the worst. Something appeared but they hardly had time to see what it was, because the Xeedwox instantly blasted it away with a burst of light from his mouth. It was a defensive reaction, but they found out the "thing" wasn't really hostile when they heard the familiar screech of fear from the co-pilot falling from the tree, then a grunt from Piper catching him by his tail before he fell on the ground.

"Hehe... Oops." - Stork laughed awkwardly and Orion let out a sound meaning he was apologizing too.

"Stork! Orion!" - Piper shouted. She was so happy she had found at least two of her friends.

She and Radarr climbed up to the same height the merb and the black creature were tangled up.

"How did you find us?" - the merb asked.

"We followed your whistle." - the girl said.

"Oh. Looks like my guide to survive the darkness can actually serve a purpose in here too." - he pulled a book from his pocket, and it was completely wet - "Too bad it's ruined now. That could have saved us from our impending doom in the clutches of those muddy creatures." - he nonchalantly threw the book away.

The girl just shook her head at him.

"We gotta get you out of here." - she tried to pull a liana that was wrapped around one of Orion's legs but the vine was too resistant, it'd not rip itself apart.

Radarr tried to bite it, but when his teeth collided with it, he froze, then trembled like crazy. That thing almost broke his teeth! He winced in pain as he removed the vine from his mouth and noticed there was one tooth missing: it was stuck on the liana. He frowned as he poked the empty space inside his mouth.

"That's why you don't put everything you find on your mouth." - Stork said, and the co-pilot glared at him.

How was he supposed to know that thing was so hard?! And how did he think he should have tried to free them?! It's not like he had any tools at hand!

"It's okay, Radarr. Your tooth will grow back." - Piper reassured him - "We can't cut through these things by common means. Maybe..." - she pulled out the Binding Crystal.

"Uh... Do you really think it's gonna work?" - the merb was skeptical.

"I don't know, but it's worth a try." - she shrugged, then she started to focus - " _Fire's Fight!_ " - she shouted the spell.

A red aura formed around her and a beam of red light was shot from her towards Stork, but when it reached him, the beam stopped dead and gradually faded away as a surge of energy came from the crystal and exploded in Piper's face. She was thrown out of the branch she had been sitting on, but she managed to grab a hold of another branch right before she fell. Her fingers were about to slip when Radarr grabbed her arm and started to pull her up. After a few tries, he managed to bring her back to safety again. She breathed heavily, that was close!

"So... What happened?" - Stork asked. He had a feeling that wasn't going to work, but he didn't really know why.

"I think... I can only use the Binding with Aerrow." - the girl concluded as she stared at the crystal in her hand.

"Oh. Figures." - the carrier pilot muttered.

"What do you mean?" - she asked.

"Well, it's not like we're the 'bestest' friends ever." - he said to her with a bit of extra emphasis on the last three words - "That's not really my thing." - he shrugged calmly.

"Right." - Piper frowned the same way she did whenever Finn did something annoying or stupid.

She knew Stork definitely was not the kind of guy that ran around spreading love everywhere, but he didn't have to point out that he wasn't exactly super attached to them that way. They all were supposed to be a family, like Aerrow always said. That was kinda rude of him.

"Hm... Since it looks like we'll have to spend some more time in here, I think you should start using this." - he threw a small can to her - "The bugs in here are pretty nasty."

She stared at the repellent can. Well, guess he did care. He just had a different way of showing affection. She gave a weak half smile at that, then she started spraying the can's content around in the air, though she was a little skeptical about its usefulness... Until she noticed the insects did fly away. But, they weren't insects they had found in the Atmos, they were foreign beings... How...?

"This stuff is actually effective? How's that?" - she asked.

"It's made out of Radarr's fur." - he told her bluntly.

She blinked. Oh, that explains it all! She looked at the small co-pilot with a soft smile on her face. He was just staring at the merb with a quite surprised expression on his face. Stork had experimented on him! Well, on his fur, but it was still a part of him! Ugh! He never wanted to be a test subject, a guinea pig! He just let out an upset sound as he rubbed his neck, remembering how he had to pull off some of his fur to help the team fight off the Night Crawlers just because their crystals were allergic to him. He frowned and crossed his arms.

Piper gently patted him in the back, trying to comfort him, as he stared downwards in thought. Well, something good came out of it: at least he'd not have to painfully remove his fur anymore to make special ammo. So he chirped at that and uncrossed his arms, letting the girl know he was okay.

* * *

Aerrow and Finn were still on the small boats being pulled by Fenisces after quite sometime. They suddenly heard a weird sound and saw a big muddy snake launch itself at Khoj. The two boys shouted to get the Chief's attention to the danger.

"Relax, everything is under control." - he said calmly as he threw a spear at the snake.

The crystal on the tip of the weapon made the snake disintegrate as the spear passed right through it. The weapon kept flying until it hit the ground with its tip, making the crystal generate a pulse that sent it flying back to Khoj's hand. Aerrow and Finn observed with their mouths open. How did he do that?!

"I told you." - the man said as they passed by a tree that had different colors - "Here we are. Welcome to Muskeghy Village." - he gestured to his home.

The two boys were impressed. Even though the place was rustic, they used crystals to power up structures like platforms that moved vertically or horizontally, serving as elevators and bridges, other independent platforms that moved freely and served as floating transports, and several other things that made it look like the place had lots of high tech but a primitive appearance.

"Wow." - Aerrow was agape.

"Uh... So... Does that mean there's soap in here?" - Finn asked while the sky knight blinked in disbelief.

How could he only think about that?! Finn would always be Finn...

 


	7. Episode 54 - Part 2

**Episode 54 - Brisk Marshes**

**Part 2 - The Witchdoctor**

"We from the Morast Reign live in harmony with nature. We only gather what's strictly necessary to survive, nothing more. This huge swamp is alive, so we need to respect it." - Khoj explained as he gave a quick tour to Aerrow and Finn.

"Chief, other two survivors are already being attended by the witchdoctors." - a native ran up to them to tell the news.

"Good. Keep me updated if you find the others too." - the Chief said as the other man left them.

"Wait, they're being attended by witchdoctors? Why? Where are they?" - Aerrow asked a little worriedly.

"I'll take you there right away. Don't worry, your friends are fine."

The three walked to a hut and inside they saw Junko sitting on a hammock, his weight making it touch the ground, and Henny sitting on a thick stump with her back facing them.

"Aerrow, Finn! I'm glad you guys are okay." - the wallop said happily, while the lilac girl turned her torso and her head to greet them as well.

"Why are you two in here? Did something happen?" - the sky knight asked.

"I'm fine. I'm just accompanying Henny." - Junko told him - "She has something weird on her legs."

"Oh, is that why you're hiding them from us?" - Finn figured.

"Hey, it's okay, you can show us what's going on." - Aerrow said.

"I don't think it's a good idea." - she was unsure.

"C'mon, they can't be that bad." - the blonde boy spoke.

The girl turned around on her seat and showed them her legs completely infested with mushrooms growing on them. The sharpshooter gasped and cringed away while the leader blinked in shock, making the Warmyan frown.

"Ah, you two don't have guts at all." - an old woman, a witchdoctor, appeared holding a pot with a green liquid inside - "Cringing and making such a big deal out of a mushpore." - she gave the pot to Henny, so she could drink the cure.

"A mush- what?" - Finn asked.

"Mushpore. The mushrooms from this swamp release some spores, and if you're allergic to them, mushrooms will grow on your body." - the woman explained as the mushrooms from Henny's legs started falling off, revealing several holes on her boots, which they had created to be able to grow - "You were lucky we found you before it was too late."

"Woah... That's much worse than chickenpox." - the sharpshooter said - "Man... How can you live in a place like this? Super deep mud puddles, weird monsters, spores turning you into mushroom people, and the most important: no soap!"

The woman just raised an eyebrow at him.

"When you're given a place to live, you just turn it into your home. But we won't change this swamp, because this is also the home of several other creatures before we came. If you don't respect the place, you'll extinguish other life. You can't change the world so it'll be likeable to you. You have to accept it the way it originally is. Life began when the world was untouched, I think it's a perfect enough place, don't you?" - she told him, and he just blinked pretty much as if he didn't understand one single word she had said, making her sigh - "Kids these days think they're all that, when they're not."

"Hey!" - the blonde shouted obviously insulted.

"But we're not kids, even if we're young. We have a mission, we have responsibility, we've been living on our own for so many years, and we've led a war against an evil empire! How can you say that?" - the sky knight was getting a bit angry, he hated to be called a kid.

"You could be many years old and a completely accomplished warrior, with that attitude, you'd still be a child. It's not your age or the feats you've done that make you different from a kid. It's your maturity, your personal growth, the way you think." - she told him - "You're a naïve, stubborn and reckless boy, it's written in your face. You have to work on that. And I won't even comment on your friend there, there's no cure for him."

The red haired boy just stood there quiet while Finn looked quite annoyed. She was spot on, having the truth being rubbed in your face wasn't the most pleasant feeling.

"You speak like a natural leader, but you still have a lot to learn. I can see in your eyes that you'd do anything to protect your friends. Sacrificing yourself for them is good, but you can't go over the edge or you'll bring others down with you." - she somehow managed to make a direct reference to when Aerrow was paranoid about finding Radarr when the Condor was swallowed by the Leviathan, and he noticed that.

"How did you...?" - he was asking as she interrupted him with her answer.

"I'm not just a witchdoctor, I'm also a far seer. I've had a lot of experiences in my life, I've seen and done so many things. All my years alive taught me so much, and they still teach me. There was a point in which I was so filled with wisdom, that I could tell things nobody else could. I can guess your past and your future by just looking at you, and I'll guess correctly." - she explained - "However the erudition one can gain is not limited, the knowledge never ends. It might sound like it's too much for you to handle, but it's not. You just have to expand your mind more and more, and open its doors to the enlightenment."

The others just listened and smiled, except for Finn who didn't look impressed even though he probably didn't know what she was talking about. That old woman was a fountain pouring wisdom everywhere. They could learn so much from her. Aerrow stared at the door of the hut and frowned a bit. He wished the others were there too, so they could listen to the witchdoctor. Piper would have loved it, she'd have such nice conversations with her. He sighed.

"I just hope they're okay." - he muttered.

"They're alright. Orion is with them." - Henny told him.

"How do you know?" - he asked.

"Orion and I have been close friends for so long we've developed a special bond. I can actually connect with his mind and know what he's thinking and what's happening around him, no matter how far away we are from each other." - the Warmyan girl said - "Though things don't appear too clear."

"It's called a psychic bond." - the witchdoctor explained - "It's like a bridge connecting the two minds together. It can be accomplished by two beings in perfect attunement with each other."

At that, Aerrow blinked.

"A perfect attunement? Cyclonis said I had it with Piper, and that's why I could heal her with the Binding during the fight in Cyclonia." - he pondered - "What does that mean?"

"So you've achieved it." - the woman commented - "Every living being has an essence, every essence is different, but they can be compatible. When two compatible essences find each other they create a link: the perfect attunement." - she explained - "The link creates bridges that connect the two beings together. The bridge of the mind is the psychic bond. The Binding being able to flow both ways is a consequence of the bridge of the heart, the emotional link. There's the bridge of the body, which is the physical bridge. It makes you able to feel every sensation the other does and share it. Every bit of pain, cold, heat, literally everything. And the bridge of the soul, the deepest link of them all. What exactly it does is still a mystery, because rare are the ones who achieve a perfect attunement and, among them, very few ever managed to unlock the bridge of the soul."

"Then if Aerrow and Piper have the link, that means they can learn the psychic bond too!" - Henny said.

"And this way I could find out where she and the others are!" - the leader realized.

"It is true you can do that if you have a strong enough bond. But opening the bridges is not an easy task. You have partially unlocked the bridge of the heart because you were submitted to a trial. You'll have to pass on certain tests to learn the psychic bond as well." - the witchdoctor told him - "It'd be ideal if you two could perform the tests together. But I guess we could try to start the process with you first, and then finish it when she's here." - she put a hand on her chin while she thought about a way to make it work.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's do it!" - he said.

"Come to our temple, then. That's the best place to start your first trial." - the old woman motioned for them to follow her.

* * *

Piper was holding onto a tree trunk while looking around. She climbed up the tree to meet Stork and Orion.

"Nothing down there." - she said - "Any luck up there, Radarr?"

The co-pilot jumped from the tree top to a branch and shook his head: nothing either. The girl sighed.

"We've been waiting for hours. The others will never find us if we stay here. We have to move." - she told them.

"What about that warp crystal you have?" - Stork asked.

"I can't warp you two because you're stuck on the trees. Trees are big structures that can't be moved around like that. And the warp crystal teleports everything that's in contact with the user." - she explained.

"Well... Then figure out how to cut these indestructible vines." - he said.

"I'm pretty sure Orion would be able to cut them if he could move." - the navigator said and the Xeedwox nodded in agreement - "If we could loosen them up a little..." - and then she realized.

She pulled the geyser crystal out of her pocket.

"And how will that crystal help us out?" - the merb looked skeptical.

"You better hang onto something." - she warned him, then she released the power of the crystal.

Lots of water came out of it like an explosion. The water pressure was so strong it began pushing the vines away from Orion, giving him some room to move. He hardened his tail and started cutting them. Finally, after a few minutes struggling, the Xeedwox and the carrier pilot were set free. The big black creature immediately dived to the ground. He didn't want to get tangled up again. The merb fell on the shallow water once Orion got out of the mess of vines. Piper and Radarr leaped to the ground as well. They all were soaked from so much water the crystal had generated.

"Guess I won't need to bathe for an year." - Stork complained.

"Well, at least you're free." - Piper retorted - "Let's go look for the others."

But she barely took one step forward when they saw several muddy humanoids in front of them. Now that didn't look good. The girl was the one nearest to the creatures, so one of them charged at her and pinned her down. She tried to use the geyser crystal to blow the muddy being up, but when she did it, she noticed the mud was simply pushed away, revealing a body structure made of plants. They had literally upgraded themselves to eliminate their weakness!

Orion tried to hold them off, but many of the muddy humanoids jumped on him and held onto him firmly, so he'd not lash out at them. Radarr was also captured when one of them grabbed his tail, lifting him upside down, and didn't let go. At last, the creatures cornered Stork with ease.

"Hehe... We're doomed." - the merb grumbled.

* * *

Finn, Junko, Henny and the witchdoctor waited outside a hut near the temple of the village while Aerrow dressed himself with the special attires.

"Uh... Are you sure I need to wear this?" - he asked from inside the hut, feeling obviously uncomfortable.

"Yes. To begin the process of opening the bridges, you have to get rid of anything that'll link you to mundane things. If you wear something very natural that's not your possession, you'll be able to achieve that." - the witchdoctor told him.

"If you say so..." - he said as he slowly walked out of the hut.

He was dressed in a kind of skirt made of leaves, he was also wearing some bracelets and anklets made of branches and vines, and a head adornment made of several kinds of different plants. Finn and Junko immediately laughed at the sight, even Henny had to contain her giggles, specially because having two guys letting out guffaws right by her side was quite contagious.

"Hey, dude. Careful, or the leaves might fall off." - the blonde boy said as he laughed more.

The red haired leader frowned annoyed. That was so awkward!

"Chill out, will you? This isn't a joke." - the old woman scolded the two guys laughing hysterically, then she turned to Aerrow - "Please, take a seat at the center of the inner ring of the temple."

The sky knight did what he was told. He examined his surroundings: several stone pillars were around a stone floor with strange markings. He figured those might be sacred symbols or something.

"What do I have to do now?" - he asked.

"Meditate." - she said - "You'll have to focus on making your mind travel away from your body. To be able to do this, you'll have to find the link you have with your friend." - she explained - "Now, clear your thoughts and allow your mind to search for the link."

"How do I know if my mind found it?"

"You'll start seeing many faint lines in front of your eyes. They're the links you have with every single being you've met. The perfect attunement is a special bond, though. It'll appear as a bright line, quite easy to spot. When you see it, focus on reaching it."

"Alright." - he said after briefly picturing her explanation in his head, then closed his eyes.

"Man, this stuff is so complex." - the sharpshooter whispered to Junko, making Aerrow frown irritated - "I don't get what's going on. They said too many big words." - the blonde boy kept talking, which made the redhead's eyebrow twitch in anger - "And meditate? Really? This is so boring."

Okay, that was it.

"Finn!" - he snapped at the blue eyed boy - "Be quiet! I can't concentrate!"

"Sure, sure, dude. Sorry, man." - Finn said and went silent.

Aerrow sighed and closed his eyes as he began building up focus again. Not long later he could see himself floating in the void. That was a representation of him, created by his mind. He floated for a while until he ended up in front of a big mess of faint lines that went on and on without ever ending. There were so many of them! He tried to look for the bright one, but no sign of it anywhere. Yet, he didn't give up. He searched, searched and searched. Nothing. Was he doing something wrong? It was then that he saw an intense light almost blind him.

When his vision went back to normal, he could see the bright line and it was flashing! He suddenly felt something weird, an urge to quickly go to the line. He touched it, and as he did so, he was turned into a bright mist and was sucked into the line. He was taken through it to the very location Piper was in the swamp so fast that he could barely register the path he took. He saw her being pinned down by a monster and gasped.

The reaction from his mind brought him back to the real world really fast, he could feel his mind entering his body again with a thud. It felt awfully painful, but he didn't care.

"Piper is in trouble. We need to get to her right now." - he said.

"I can feel something wrong is going on with Orion too." - Henny told him - "We better hurry."

The sky knight got up very quickly and sprinted to the hut, so he could dress his uniform again. The others followed him up to the door of the hut and waited outside.

"Don't forget to bring her here when you come back! You still have to finish the rest of the trial!" - the witchdoctor shouted as they all left - "That boy is going to be a great warrior. He has a lot of potential." - she smiled.

The three Storm Hawks and the Warmyan girl ran to meet the Chief.

"Chief Khoj!" - Aerrow shouted when he stopped by the door of his hut - "We need your help."

"What is it you need?" - the old man asked.

"I know where the rest of my team is. And they're in danger against those muddy creatures." - he warned urgently.

"I see. I'll have some of my men follow you and I'll spare some weapons for you right away." - he told them.

"Thanks."

The Chief of the village motioned to some of his men, telling them to go with Aerrow's group. He also nodded to two other men so they'd bring extra weapons for the Storm Hawks to use. Aerrow chose two axes so he could dual wield like he usually does, Junko and Henny received two spears and Finn got a bow with some arrows.

"Don't they have a crossbow or a gun? Maybe a slingshot?" - the blonde boy asked.

"Why?" - Junko didn't get what Finn meant.

"I know my aim is awesome and all, but I've never used a bow before." - he told him - "I have no idea how to shoot with this thing." - he held an arrow along with the bow's string, aimed randomly and released it, but it barely flew forward before hitting the ground - "See?"

"You have to pull the string to give impulse for the arrow. And don't grip on the arrow, just on the string." - a native man explained.

"Oh..." - the sharpshooter said in realization as he tried once again and successfully shot an arrow - "Wow, this thing is actually pretty cool!"

"Okay, guys. Let's go." - the sky knight said and the rest of the group nodded.

They walked to the entrance of the village. One of the men approached Aerrow.

"So, how did you figure out where they are?" - he asked.

"It's kind of a hunch... That happens to be correct somehow..." - the boy rubbed the back of his head while realizing what he had just said sounded really weird - "Uh... The witchdoctor helped me."

"Ah, got it. Yma has a knack for that kind of thing. Your 'hunch' is indeed right." - the man said.

"Yma... So that's her name." - the boy said to himself.

"Well, lead the way." - the native told him.

"Alright. Everyone, follow me!" - he shouted and ran ahead, a group of natives and his friends followed close behind.

* * *

Piper struggled to get free, but the creature had a really strong grip on her. Vines started to grow from the monster's arm, going around the girl as if they were tying her up like ropes. The creature lifted its arm, holding Piper above its head, and started diving into the deep muddy water. The same happened to the others. Radarr whimpered scared as vines curled around him, he moved his paws uncontrollably until the vines tied him up completely. Orion was already immobilized by the monsters when he was tied up as well. Stork screamed in horror and fainted as he was also captured.

"Let me go!" - Piper screamed as she tried to move, her body was already inside the water, only her head and one of her hands were still out - "Help! Please! Somebody!" - she tried to at least call for help, maybe there was someone in that swamp, it was worth a shot.

When her head was finally completely underwater and only her finger tips were on the surface, a miracle happened: a hand dived into the water and held her wrist firmly, then it started to pull her out of the water. She opened her eyes to look at her savior.

"Aerrow!" - she shouted happily.

"Junko! Go help Orion! Henny and Finn, help Stork and Radarr!" - the leader ordered as he used all his strength to pull Piper to the surface.

Since the girl was covered in mud, she was a bit slippery, so the creature's vines lost their grip on her, which made Aerrow's excessive strength pull her too fast, making him fall backwards and her nearly land on top of him. The creature was angry now. It surfaced really fast, throwing muddy water everywhere, causing the two Storm Hawks to become completely soaked. It prepared to lash out at them, making Piper put her arms in front of her protectively while Aerrow positioned himself between them to serve as her shield and readied his axe in an attempt to parry the attack.

But it never came. As soon as the monster began to swing its arm, an arrow pierced through it and made it explode. The two blinked at that, until they heard Finn giving his signature "chick-cha" and saw him blowing his finger. Suddenly, a muddy creature surfaced near him and roared at him. He screamed like a girl and cowered to protect himself, until Henny threw a spear at the monster, making it blow up as well. The sharpshooter sighed in relief.

Junko was having trouble trying to pull Orion out of the water. Besides the fact that the Xeedwox was heavy, there were ten creatures holding onto him. The muddy humanoids surfaced and tried to attack the wallop too, but several arrows coming from the natives hit them and destroyed them.

After seeing they were outnumbered, the creatures retreated, diving into the water.

"Wow, what are those weapons made of?" - Piper asked.

"Reversed gravity crystal shards. They're not as powerful as the whole crystal, but they're definitely powerful enough to destroy those muddy creatures." - a native explained.

She smiled at the explanation, then she looked at Aerrow.

"You guys arrived just in time!" - she was impressed by the perfect timing - "How did you figure out where we were?"

"You'll find out when we get to the village." - he told her.

* * *

Not long later they all were back to the Muskeghy Village.

"I see you found your companions." - Chief Khoj said.

"Yeah, but we still need to find our ship." - Aerrow told him.

"My search parties still haven't localized it, but they're working on it."

"We also have a message about a union of all the reigns against that dangerous person I had told you about." - the sky knight said as Henny showed Khoj the letter King Eridius gave her.

"Hm... The Morast Reign is no longer a one ruler reign. We've decided to make all the villages independent." - the Chief explained - "We do have a council, though. But the decision of going in favor of your cause or not is entirely up to each Chief, I can't promise the whole reign will follow you into battle, but I'll see what I can do."

"Maybe I should go with you, Chief Khoj, to see how the reunion will go." - the Warmyan said.

The two walked to the Chief's hut, while the others were left behind. They kept walking towards another hut, where the witchdoctor waited for them inside.

"We're here, Yma." - Aerrow spoke - "This is Piper." - he gestured to the crystal mage beside him.

"Ah... So she's the one." - the old woman walked to the girl while paying a lot of attention to her, which made her feel a bit uneasy - "She's a fine girl, indeed." - then she suddenly blinked when she felt something weird - "Quickly, come with me." - she grabbed the navigator's wrist and pulled her along, her voice sounded rather urgent.

"Hey, wait up!" - the leader shouted and ran after them.

"W-what's going on? Where are you taking me?" - Piper asked.

"You're going to begin a special training with your friend." - the old woman said as she pushed a curtain made of vines and leaves to the side, so they could enter a room - "Stay here."

She positioned Piper in the center of a circle marked on the floor and grabbed a kind of scepter as Aerrow stopped by the door and watched.

"Special training?" - the girl was confused, she observed as the woman focused on what seemed to be a prayer or something, like a ritual.

"Yes. You two will learn how to connect with each other in ways very few can." - the witchdoctor explained as she moved her arms around slowly and some mist began filling the room - "But first, you have to be cleansed."

Suddenly, green fire appeared by the sides of the old woman, and she moved her arms forward, making the huge wave of fire go directly towards the navigator.

"Piper!" - Aerrow shouted worried as the girl screamed and cowered in fear when the flames engulfed her.

 


	8. Episode 54 - Part 3

**Episode 54 - Brisk Marshes**

**Part 3 - The Trial of Mind**

Piper cowered in fear when she saw the fire coming at her. But then she realized it didn't hurt, so she opened her eyes and noticed she was on fire, though there was no pain.

"How is this possible?" - she was stunned.

"The green flames are harmless, they have healing and cleansing properties. I'd not set you on fire if I knew it would hurt you." - Yma told her with a knowing smile - "Well, you're clean now." - she said as the fire faded away.

Aerrow entered the room and stood beside Piper.

"Why did you do that to her and not to me?" - he asked while gesturing at her, then at himself.

"You don't have a dark energy inside you that has to be controlled." - the old woman said - "At least, not right now."

He blinked.

"What do you mean 'dark energy'?" - he didn't understand, and his question made Piper stare at the ground frowning, then cross her arms and rub her hands against them uneasily.

"Every link has a downside if it's not mastered properly. The link of the mind can make you blind, the link of the body can make you disabled, the link of the heart can corrupt you and make you evil, and the link of the soul... Its downside is the worst of all and it's still unknown." - the witchdoctor explained, while Aerrow glanced at Piper worried and then back at her - "I'll help you unlock the bridge of the mind, but you'll have to seek other instructors to teach you how to master the other links." - she told them - "Your training shall begin soon. Please, dress the ritual attires."

"Ritual attires?" - Piper asked and looked at Aerrow, who just smiled sheepishly. Now that was going to be embarrassing.

* * *

Piper didn't look amused after her change of clothes. She was wearing a skirt and a top made of leaves, bracelets and anklets made of branches and vines, a head adornment made of many different plants, including two beautiful orange flowers on one of its sides and a runic amulet. Aerrow walked to her side.

"Hey, at least you're not a guy wearing a skirt." - he told her while gesturing to himself.

At that, she looked at him and giggled. He had a point. Her outfit didn't look nearly as bad on her as his did on him.

"Well, I kinda liked the flowers." - she touched the orange blossoms on her head briefly while smiling.

"We shall begin your training now. Please, sit down here inside the temple." - Yma said as she approached them.

The two teenagers sat on the floor one beside the other in the center of the temple. They closed their eyes to focus on the meditation.

"Clear your mind from all the worries, all the duties, from any mundane sensation you might be feeling. Think of absolutely nothing." - the old woman said - "Let yourselves..."

"It'd be easier if this skirt weren't giving me an itch." - Aerrow interrupted while frowning and scratching himself, which made Piper open one of her eyes and stare at him.

"I'm starting to feel itchy too, now that you said it." - she told him as she blinked and opened her other eye, then scratched herself as well.

The witchdoctor sighed.

"Focus, you two!" - she shouted at them, making them return to their meditating positions quickly - "But let me warn you: once the process is complete, there's no way back. You two will always be able to know what the other is thinking, so you better be sure you're okay with not keeping absolutely any secrets from each other."

The two stopped meditating and stared at each other for a second, then both nodded. They really couldn't afford hesitating. They'd do what it'd take to finish their mission.

"We're ready." - Aerrow said.

"Then let's begin: let yourselves relax and find the link between you two." - she instructed them - "To unlock the bridge of the mind, you have to eliminate any distractions and focus on sharing your thoughts without speaking or looking at each other. You have to open the doors to your minds and create a bridge between them. You have to fully allow the other to read your mind and learn what you know. To lend your eyes, so the other can see with them."

As the old woman spoke, the two meditated. After a few minutes, they could hear each other's thoughts, the way they were focusing on the task. They could see themselves in another dimension, touching a blue stream of light that led to one another. At that moment, they started to share their thoughts. It was then that Aerrow learned something from Piper: Cyclonis had invaded her mind to try to discourage her before the battle against Cyclonia.

' _So that's what had happened!_ ' - his projection said while looking at Piper's with a worried expression - ' _Why didn't you tell me?_ '

' _You already had too much to worry about. I didn't wanna be a burden. Besides, she didn't do anything to me._ ' - she told him.

' _Why do I think it was her fault you started getting sick from using the Binding?_ ' - he crossed his arms.

' _Aerrow, it doesn't matter right now._ ' - she looked away.

' _It matters, Piper._ ' - he said solemnly - ' _You almost died because we had no idea of what was going on! If I had known that power could do that, I'd..._ '

' _But you did know!_ ' - she interrupted him - ' _I had told you I felt something dark with that power. I told you I was scared about mastering it! And you didn't say a word!_ '

At that, he blinked surprised and quite taken aback. Suddenly, the stream of light between them faded and their minds returned to their bodies. As Aerrow opened his eyes to look at a sad Piper, he spoke:

"Piper, I..." - he reached out a hand for her.

"Stop, right now." - the witchdoctor interrupted him, drawing their attention - "You can't pass the trial if you don't trust each other. You have issues to solve before you're truly ready. We'll have to try this another time. You're not prepared." - she said as she got up and left.

The crystal mage also stood up and started making her way out, when the sky knight called her.

"So you don't trust me anymore?" - he said with an upset tone as he got up.

"I do... It's just..." - she trailed off, she didn't really know how to say that she had lost some of her trust in him after he ignored her warning when she told him something so deep like that - "Things have changed."

He knew what she meant by that.

"How can I earn it back, then?" - he was nearly pleading.

"I don't know..." - she looked away from him - "This trust we need for this ritual... I think it's beyond what we can do right now." - she then walked away, leaving a saddened Aerrow alone in the temple.

* * *

Henny and Khoj were inside a big hut. The Chief walked to what seemed to be a kind of round wooden table, made of a chopped tree trunk and gestured over it, making some holograms appear.

"I know we don't look like we're that advanced, but in fact we are. Since each village is independent, I'll have to call a meeting." - he told the Warmyan girl, as the image of another old man appeared on the hologram - "Chief Qwan, here's Khoj speaking, we need to make a reunion with all the other Chiefs to discuss some important matters."

" _You'll not fool me again this time, you pesky children!_ " - Qwan's voice came from the hologram.

Khoj just blinked.

"What are you talking about?" - he asked.

" _Don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about. Last time I received a holocall from you, I was greeted in the reunion room by millions of cacti ants! I'm not falling for it again._ " - the other Chief crossed his arms.

"Ah, figures. I think my kids must have played a few pranks on you." - he said - "But this time is for real. The kids aren't even here, they're hunting with their instructor."

" _And how can I know it's really you and not them?_ " - he eyed him suspiciously.

"Well, I have a guest here with a letter from King Eridius of Warmya." - Khoj told him as Henny stepped into the hologram's view and showed the letter.

" _Hm... It's indeed the real seal of the Warmya Reign in that letter, they'd not be able to fake that._ " - Qwan's hologram said while putting a hand on his chin - " _Very well. I'll spread the message about this reunion to my neighbor villages._ "

"Good. The meeting will take place in my conference room within one hour. Khoj out." - he said as he turned the hologram off - "4 villages down, 87 to go."

At that Henny's eyes shot wide open. So the Morast Reign had divided itself into 92 independent villages? She frowned a bit. That was going to be a long session of holocalls...

* * *

Piper had come from the temple and sat on a rock in front of a rustic table a bit far from the group, as Aerrow appeared not long after her and sat by a stone table where the others were gathered around.

"So, how did it go? Did you do it?" - Junko asked.

"No, we didn't." - the sky knight said with a slightly harsh tone in his voice.

"Woah, what's up with you two, man? You're snapping at us and Piper didn't even come near us. What happened there?" - Finn inquired.

"Nothing, Finn... Nothing." - the leader looked away a bit angry, he wasn't in the mood to talk, then he suddenly stood up and left.

"Hey, where are you going?" - the wallop asked.

"Eh... I think we should leave him alone for now..." - Stork pointed out.

"Yeah... Whatever happened in there made him mad. He needs to cool off." - the blonde agreed.

Radarr stared at Aerrow walking away and got down from the stone seat to follow him. The sky knight stopped for a moment and looked at Piper that was sitting distant from where he was standing. Her head was down and her face was upset, she had her arms crossed on top of the stone table. He saw her lower her head even more to rest it on her arms. He just sighed and shook his head, then continued walking.

After a while, the leader noticed someone was following him, so he turned around to see Radarr slowly approaching him with a worried look on his face. The small co-pilot whimpered softly, showing his sympathy towards Aerrow.

"Oh, hey, Radarr." - the boy just kneeled to allow his buddy to climb on his shoulder - "Sorry for worrying you. I'm fine, it's nothing serious... I guess..." - he lowered his head while frowning - "Ah, I just found out Piper doesn't trust me the way I thought she did. And I don't know what to do to earn it back."

The little mission specialist rubbed his face against Aerrow's then stared at him with a warm smile, trying to comfort him.

"Thanks, Radarr. Yeah, I can't give up. We'll work it out, we just have to. For the world's sake." - he said while staring at the sky.

The animal on his shoulder looked at him as if he were saying "Aren't you forgetting something?"

"And to save our friendship too, of course." - Aerrow smiled shyly at his best buddy and rubbed the back of his head after he noticed that.

Radarr just looked at him with a knowing smile as he shook his head. Silly Aerrow, that was the priority! He shouldn't put the world before himself all the time. That wasn't healthy. He had to do something for himself sometimes as well.

The sky knight continued walking with his co-pilot on his shoulder. Even though he had decided to work on fixing what had happened as soon as possible, going for a walk wouldn't hurt. It might actually help him figure out what to do.

* * *

Piper just sat with her head resting on her arms. She felt quite sad and disappointed. But then, someone approached her to talk to her.

"You know, this bond you have with your friend isn't important just for you two. Your partnership will be needed in the near future. If you fight now, things will be grim for everyone." - Yma told Piper as she sat by the table, in front of her.

The girl sighed.

"It's all my fault. I should've cooperated more." - the crystal mage said - "I shouldn't have argued with him. That just made him mad and me upset."

Yma put a hand on top of Piper's to give her a comforting touch.

"I know it's hard to forgive and forget sometimes, specially when it comes down to something really deep and personal, but your friend is trying his best and he needs you to do so as well." - the old woman said.

"I guess so..." - the girl looked away.

"You know, even though he's stubborn and all, he's still more forgiving than you are." - the witchdoctor pointed out.

At that Piper blinked. She knew exactly what Yma was talking about. The memory was even played in her mind.

_"Piper?" - Aerrow was in space and he had called Piper through the radio to hear her new calculations._

_"I-I've never done this kind of math before. What if it's wrong? What if I...?" - she spoke panicked through the radio._

_"Piper!" - he interrupted her - "I trust you."_

She closed her hand into a semi fist and moved it in front of her heart. Even when she had miscalculated and sent Aerrow to his doom, he still made it clear that he trusted her, no matter what kind of mistake she had made. He never failed to show her his support. She smiled at that realization.

"You're right. I could always rely on him, I can't believe I ever thought any differently. That has never changed." - Piper said - "He was there for me when I needed the most... And now it looks like I abandoned him." - she lowered her head while frowning disappointed in herself.

"You can make things right now. Just go talk to him. If he could forgive you before, he'll do it now too." - Yma assured her.

"Thanks, Yma. Aerrow was right when he said you had a lot of wisdom to offer." - she got up and went to look for him.

"Things are finally going to the right path." - the old woman said to herself.

* * *

Far away from the Muskeghy Village there was a cave, that was the nest of the mysterious floating eyeballs. A group of Night Crawlers landed near it and entered it. The eyeballs got really angry at the intruders, so they formed muddy humanoid bodies and attacked them.

The Night Crawlers managed to fight them off, until they finally got to what would be the "queen" in a nest of ants or bees. The huge eyeball stared suspiciously at them, but didn't try to attack. It somehow sensed they wanted something with it.

The red eyed dark soldier approached the "queen" and showed it an hologram of Master Cyclonis.

" _I have a proposition to you. I'm after certain people that arrived in the Morast Reign a little while ago. My Night Crawlers brought you some crystals to use against them. If you get rid of them for me, you can use your new powers to destroy all the villages and get your precious swamp back all to yourself._ " - the hologram said as the creature stared downwards in thought - " _Do we have an agreement?_ "

The huge eyeball looked back at the hologram and "nodded".

" _Very well. Give them the crystals._ " - Cyclonis ordered as her hologram disappeared.

The Night Crawlers opened some crates they had brought with them and gave 5 different types of crystals to each eyeball: one icer, one cloaking crystal, one blocking crystal, one blazer and one swarm crystal. The eyeballs created muddy bodies and integrated the crystals inside them. Now they could use their powers to their advantage.

One by one they left the cave and gathered outside, forming a big army, then they marched towards the Muskeghy Village, which was the nearest one from where they were.

* * *

"Ah, welcome, you all. Thanks for coming to the meeting." - Khoj said as all the leaders sat around a huge table - "As you already know, we've been called by the Warmya Reign to join them in an alliance to fight a major threat to the Greatland."

"What exactly is this 'major threat'?" - one of the Chiefs asked.

"Henny, please explain." - Khoj told her.

"Okay." - she stood up from her seat to talk - "A person from beyond the Cliff Barriers came to the Greatland to cause havoc. And she..."

"Wait, there's people living in the Atmos?" - another Chief interrupted - "I thought the Great Storms had killed everyone else that didn't come in here."

"Well, they didn't, there's a lot of people out there." - the Warmyan said - "This dangerous person is called Master Cyclonis. She's the ruler of the Cyclonian Empire. And she's trying to conquer the world by any means."

"The Cyclonian Empire..." - one Chief said as he thought about it - "I've heard of that name before..." - until he realized - "That's the ancient Empire! The one that had made an alliance with the Hooded Shadows! But... The Great Storms had destroyed their country! How did they survive and rebuild the Empire?"

"I don't know, but they're back. And now that the Hooded Shadows have advanced a lot in their technology, those Cyclonians will be much more powerful than before." - Khoj said.

"You're right, we have to do something about it!" - one more Chief shouted.

By the looks of it, the decision had been made: every village would join the alliance, and they even would temporarily unite their forces as one to create the Morast Reign's army.

"So it's settled. We'll start our preparations as soon as possible, and we'll be ready when you need us." - Khoj told Henny.

"Thank you, everyone." - she said politely.

But then, they heard an explosion and the ground shook a little.

"What's that?" - one of the Chiefs asked.

Henny went to a window and looked outside. Her face had a surprised frown at what she saw.

"We're in trouble." - she said.

* * *

Piper was running around, looking for Aerrow, until she finally found him with Radarr, casually walking.

"Wait up!" - she shouted, to draw his attention.

He turned around quite surprised, he wasn't expecting she was going to even consider saying a word to him so soon. When she came closer, he saw her sad expression.

"Piper? What's..." - he started asking.

"Aerrow, I'm sorry." - she interrupted him.

"What?" - he blinked.

"I'm sorry... For getting upset and ruining our special training." - she told him sincerely - "I should've tried harder."

Radarr smiled at her in sympathy. He knew she never meant to cause any harm or problems, but she needed to address the hurt she felt. And Aerrow certainly agreed with that.

"It's not just a matter of trying harder. If you hadn't brought up that there was a trust issue between us, we'd have mastered the link the wrong way, and that would've been really bad." - he explained.

"Well, yeah... But... Aerrow, I..." - she tried to tell him what she had realized, when she was interrupted by the loud noise of an explosion and the ground shaking.

"What's going on?" - the sky knight asked, and then he heard the noise of Night Crawlers nearby, which made him turn around to see what had happened.

The group of Night Crawlers had blasted one of the Village's gates open and they were trying to invade the place with an army of muddy creatures.

" _Oh, looks like it's my lucky day. I found the Storm Hawks and a committee of all the leaders of the reign in the very first village I tell my army to search through._ " - a familiar voice came from a hologram one of the dark soldiers held in his hand.

"Cyclonis!" - Piper shouted as her surprised face turned into an angered one.

" _Seize the place and lock everyone down._ " - the young Empress ordered as the hologram disappeared.

The Night Crawlers prepared to attack as Aerrow and Piper stood side by side in defensive positions, with Radarr growling at their enemies from his spot on the boy's shoulder. That was going to be a tough battle...

 


	9. Episode 54 - Part 4

**Episode 54 - Brisk Marshes**

**Part 4 - Absolute Trust**

The Night Crawlers successfully invaded the village and started wreaking havoc everywhere. They broke artifacts, burned down huts, destroyed some floating platforms, and made all the people run around desperately, looking for safety.

Khoj watched through a window on the meeting hut as his village was attacked.

"I can't believe we're here reuniting to decide if we'll join the war when the enemy is at our door!" - he said in disbelief.

"Oh, the irony..." - Qwan commented, making Khoj glare at him - "What?"

"We gotta fight back. They're trying to bring down their opposing forces before we get to assemble together as an army." - Henny told them, then she put her head out of the window - "Orion! Come here!" - she shouted very loud, and her Xeedwox approached within seconds, then she jumped out the window to hop on him - "We'll keep them busy to buy you time to gear up for the battle."

"Right, good luck out there." - Khoj said as Henny and Orion took off - "Alright, everyone, the armory is over here, follow me." - he opened a very discreet door that led to a narrow corridor like structure and all the other Chiefs went right behind him.

Finn was shooting arrows at the creatures, trying to fend them off, but they were too many, and he only shot one arrow at a time.

"Aww, man! This thing's awful! It doesn't shoot as fast as my crossbow." - he complained - "How does Ravess do it?" - he wondered.

"Well, she used to shoot several arrows at once." - Junko told him as he grabbed a hold of one of the muddy creatures and struggled against it.

"Oh, right..." - he then tried it out with 3 arrows - "How am I supposed to aim the other ones? It's not as if they'll all go straight." - but when he let go of the string, they hit 3 unaware targets squarely in the eye - "Woah, it actually worked!"

He tried to shoot a few more arrows, but when the eyeballs noticed him, they began defending themselves, using the blocking crystals: the arrows simply passed through them, without any effect. Finn gasped.

"They're upgrading themselves to counter us! Again!" - Stork shouted panicked.

"Again?" - the wallop asked.

"Yeah... They've done that before." - Piper approached them while explaining - "They created bodies made out of plants to give them a more solid structure. Now that they have crystals, they'll be even tougher to beat."

"We've beaten great odds before. Let's just do it again." - Aerrow said as he picked up two axes and charged at one of the creatures.

The eyeball noticed the sky knight coming towards it, so it readied an attack with a crystal. The navigator gasped as she saw that, then she picked up the Binding Crystal. When Aerrow was about to strike, and be hit as well, she summoned the power.

" _Speed of Light!_ " - she shouted as the red light enveloped her and her leader.

He was caught off guard by that, because he suddenly started moving so fast, that he nearly bumped into the muddy humanoid, hadn't he dodged at the last second by somersaulting and landing behind it. He took the chance to quickly attack it before it could retaliate, successfully defeating it.

"Nice one." - he smiled at Piper - "A little warning first would've been good, though."

She just shrugged a bit awkwardly in response. Well, she had to think fast, it wasn't as if there was enough time for her to tell him her plan. Besides, it would've tipped the enemy off about the strategy.

Radarr was fighting as well. He lured a few creatures by taunting and angering them. After a while following him, the muddy humanoids realized they had fallen in a trap. They had been led to a hut filled with quite a few crates of leech crystals. The leechers absorbed the power from the crystals the eyeballs had with them, then exploded, destroying them all. But one late eyeball got there right after the explosion, so it meant trouble for the mission specialist. The little animal ran as fast as he could, with the creature close behind. He got himself cornered and the monster approached him. He growled at it and jumped on it to attack. Bad call... Once he landed on the muddy humanoid, his paws got stuck in the mud. But that wasn't the end of it: the mud was actually sucking him to make him merge into the creature's body!

"Radarr!" - Aerrow shouted as he saw that and quickly tried to help his friend.

He grabbed the co-pilot by his tail and started pulling him, but the creature wouldn't let go. Until a blue thin blur passed by really fast and, suddenly, the muddy humanoid was cut in half, making it melt on the ground, releasing Radarr. The two Storm Hawks stared at each other, then at the Xeedwox in front of the mud puddle left by the creature. The mission specialist chirped happily. What a relief!

"Thanks, you guys." - the sky knight said.

Henny just saluted and Orion nodded, then both took off once again.

Junko was still struggling with the same creature. Piper saw that and thought of a plan. She pulled out a warp crystal and created a portal vortex with it.

"Junko!" - she called him - "Throw it in here!" - she pointed to the portal.

The wallop did as he was told, and the creature was teleported.

"Where did you send it?" - the flight engineer asked.

"That huge gorge with the giant mud eel out there." - the girl pointed a thumb backwards over her shoulder, just as a manner of speaking, not to really point out where the gorge was located, but then she blinked at the sound of a merb screaming.

Stork was fighting off a few eyeballs that had already lost their bodies. He held a mace in his hand and tried to hit the flying monsters with it by frantically swinging it around.

"Stay away from me, you dreaded things!" - he yelled angrily at them.

Suddenly, three arrows shot them down, making the carrier pilot sigh in relief. Finn had a smug smile on his face. He was just loving to own in a battle. Then, he looked to the side and saw several muddy humanoids. He prepared to grab some more arrows from his quiver, until he realized it was empty.

"Uh, oh." - he said.

He screamed as he dodged a few crystal blasts that were shot at him, then he proceeded to run away, looking for somewhere to hide. Junko saw that and gasped.

"They're too many!" - he shouted.

But then, several natives jumped from a ledge behind him and landed around him. They all were wearing some sort of armor made of plant fibbers and branches and they wielded several kinds of weapons.

"Not anymore." - Khoj said to the wallop, making the latter smile.

Back up had arrived just in time! The native leaders charged at the muddy humanoids and battled with all their might. They were fierce warriors. They slashed several creatures in half, smashed their bodies into mud puddles and chased them away as if that was a game.

"Hey, Khoj, I've beaten 19 of them. 20 now. What about you?" - Qwan shouted to his old friend with a cocky tone as he struck an enemy down.

"26 and still counting." - the Chief of the Muskeghy Village said wile pulling his spear off the ground, teasing the other Chief and making him grumble.

The two had a friendly rivalry, they always competed to see who was the best at something. But they never let that go over their heads. The competition actually helped them in battle, because it encouraged them to fight even harder.

Even with all the Chiefs' help, the battle was really tough. It was like the muddy humanoids army was endless. Soon the villager's fighters grew tired. The Storm Hawks and the Chiefs still had a lot of stamina, though. They kept holding the creatures off with all they had.

"33 now!" - Qwan shouted while slashing a muddy creature in half.

"37!" - Khoj replied as he thrust his spear into an enemy.

The two Chiefs stood out in the battle. Aerrow had to admit it was hard for him to keep up with those two. They'd be great assets in the future. The sky knight was snapped out of his thoughts by a monster attacking him while his guard was low. He spun around and parried the blow with both his weapons at the last second. He struggled with the creature for a while. Man, that thing was strong. But he finally managed to push the muddy humanoid backwards, then slash at it, only to have another one come at him, to get revenge for its fellow eyeball.

"Aerrow! Over here!" - Piper shouted.

The leader looked at her and saw a vortex right beside her. He got the idea. He pushed the creature with all his strength, throwing it at the portal.

"Neat trick! Let's try it again." - he said to her as he ran towards a group of eyeballs.

She focused for a second and opened another vortex. Aerrow lured a few muddy humanoids to follow him, then, when he got close to the portal, he somersaulted in the air and used his axes to blast at the monsters. The explosion sent them flying to the vortex, teleporting them away once more.

"It worked!" - Piper smiled.

Aerrow landed on the floor with a confident grin on his face: he had a plan of his own now.

"Piper, open a larger portal this time. We'll have to warp quite a few of them away." - he told her, then he turned to the others fighting - "Hey, everyone, let's get rid of them now!"

They all looked at him, then nodded at the big vortex beside him. They got the drift. Everybody started pressuring the creatures even more in the battle. After a while, they managed to corner and push all the creatures into the portal, teleporting them all away and ending the fight.

"Nice work." - Khoj praised everyone - "I wonder where you sent them."

"The gorge outside." - the crystal mage told him.

He blinked in worry at that.

"What?!" - he was surprised, but not in a good way - "You shouldn't have done that..."

"W-why not?" - the girl stuttered a bit when she asked.

A very loud roar answered her. Suddenly, the ground started shaking a lot: something big was coming at them. Far in the distance, they saw it: the huge Earthen Worm. It dashed towards the village extremely fast, destroying everything in its way. They stared at it paying extra attention and saw something that scared them. The eyeballs had merged with the huge beast!

"The worm is being controlled by them!" - Qwan shouted.

"So what do we do now?" - Junko asked.

"We'll have to fight it, even though it's not its fault." - Khoj said reluctantly.

"Is there a way we can free it from the eyeballs' control?" - Aerrow asked.

"We have to incapacitate it. They abandon the host when it can no longer serves them." - the Chief of the Muskeghy Village said - "Turn on the shields!"

The village was covered by a purple and transparent semi sphere.

"You had a force field all this time? Why didn't you use it before?" - Finn asked.

"We didn't know we were going to be attacked and we can't turn on the shield if there's something standing in its way. Right now, there's nothing preventing it from being activated." - Khoj explained.

The Earthen Worm slammed its head into the force field. Everyone could see the semi sphere brightening, warning it was taking massive damage.

"We better work fast, this shield won't hold on for too long." - Qwan said.

Most of the natives jumped in the air and started blasting the beast with crystals. The worm took several shots but didn't flinch. They began throwing crystal nets at it, in an attempt to hold it down. They managed to hold it against the ground for a while.

The wrathful creature roared very loud and struggled to get free. Piper watched the scene with a frown in her face.

"The Earthen Worm must be in so much pain..." - she said in a low voice, as if she were talking to herself, but Aerrow heard her and blinked, then stared at her - "It's all my fault."

"Hey, it's okay. That was my idea. It's my fault." - he told her.

"But I was the one who chose to send those creatures there. I'm the one to..." - she said.

"Ok, ok, enough." - he interrupted her - "Nobody's to blame, alright?" - he looked at her expectantly, wanting her to agree with him and get over that guilty feeling.

"Alright, I guess..." - she lowered her head.

But suddenly, the beast moved and hit the ground with its tail so hard, that a crack opened on it. The crack quickly created a deep trench below Aerrow's and Piper's feet, so they fell into it. The Storm Hawks saw that and went to check if the two were still alive. They were hanging from a small branch attached to the wall the girl had grabbed with her hand, while she held Aerrow with the other.

Orion tried to jump inside the crack to save his friends, but there wasn't enough room for him.

"Orion is too big to fit in there." - Henny said - "We gotta find another way of getting them out."

But while they were thinking of a plan, the huge mud eel-like creature managed to set itself free and dig a hole on the ground.

"It's going to strike at us from underground!" - Khoj shouted after he figured out how the worm had adapted to the adversities.

Everyone felt the ground shaking a lot. Aerrow looked downwards and he could see the worm creating a tunnel far below them. And it was then that he saw it: his axe was attached to the wall a few meters under them! That was their way out of there!

"Piper, let go of that branch." - he told her.

"What? Are you crazy?!" - she looked at him with a worried expression that questioned his sanity.

"C'mon..." - he said as she wouldn't let go - "Look, I know I've made some mistakes. I'm sorry for that, Piper... But please, trust me, at least this once."

She just stared at him in silence. That encouraging look on his face, the confident speech... Yes, she trusted him. She let go of the branch as she squinted her eyes. Now Aerrow had to do it right. He only had one chance, if he missed, both would die. The axe approached fast within a few seconds. Almost there... He reached his arm out to grab its handle just in time. Gotcha!

He activated the gravity crystal in the axe and both were dragged by it upwards. The sky knight wasn't really good at maneuvering the weapon to fly with it, so they hit the walls quite a few times and when they finally got out of the crack, they landed roughly on the ground.

They slowly lifted their torsos from the ground.

"Yeah... I really need to practice that one." - Aerrow said sheepishly, and Piper just smiled a bit.

The others cheered that the two were fine, but their happiness soon turned into despair as the big worm emerged from the crack, opening it even more to give it room to pass and prepared to strike with all its might at the Storm Hawks. They all screamed as the creature charged at them. Until, suddenly, Yma jumped in front of them and held out a hand.

"Stop!" - she shouted.

The beast simply obeyed her unintentionally because it was quite surprised by her action, and stopped dead on its tracks. She quickly took the chance to touch the creature's head and focus on cleansing it. After a few seconds, her hand started glowing green, then the eyeballs that had merged with the worm left its body and floated in the air around it.

"This fight has to stop." - she said - "You have to understand that this swamp is our home now, just like it's yours too." - she told the eyeballs, and they stared at each other in thought - "Why don't we quit fighting and begin sharing this place? Hasn't it been peaceful so far?"

They blinked at the suggestion. That sounded good enough. They all retreated and the worm let out a happy roar before it dug into the ground to go back to its gorge. Ah, being free again was a wonderful feeling.

"Woah..." - was all Finn managed to utter.

"That was amazing, Yma." - Piper said.

The old woman turned around and smiled at the girl and Aerrow.

"You two have learned to rely on each other without doubting now..." - she told them - "You're ready for the trial."

The two smiled at that and exchanged a quick glance with each other. Yes!

"Let's do it!" - the redhead shouted.

* * *

They went back to the temple and got dressed in the attires again. They sat beside each other. Their eyes were closed as they focused. A few seconds later they could see themselves floating in another dimension and touching a stream of light that led to one another once again.

They felt each other's thoughts and even some memories flow through their minds. They watched as many images flashed in front of them. It was working. The image of Aerrow in the other dimension looked at Piper.

' _I'm glad I've got your trust back._ ' - he smiled.

She shook her head in response.

' _I realized I never stopped trusting you. I just acted silly, that's all. There's no reason not to rely on you._ ' - she told him, which made him grin even more.

They noticed they were starting to glow. They were about to finish the process. They smiled at each other and high fived. When their hands collided, everything turned white. They came back to their bodies, but this time the trip back wasn't rough like in the trial before. They had done it. When they opened their eyes, they saw their irises were glowing: Aerrow's had a green glow and Piper's had an orange glow. Then the glow slowly faded.

"Congratulations. You have unlocked the link of the mind." - Yma told them the great news.

"Great! Now we can properly fight Cyclonis." - Aerrow said as they all stood up.

"Not yet." - the witchdoctor disagreed - "The link of the mind is only one of the four links you'll have to master. If you don't completely prepare yourselves, you won't stand a chance."

"Then where can we learn how to master the other three?" - Piper asked as they walked away from the temple and back into the village.

"You should look for the Grandmaster. I'm sure she'll have a lot to teach you. She also knows the location of the people that'll help you master the other links." - the old woman told them.

"Where is she, then?" - Aerrow wanted to know.

"Currently she's in the Techne Reign, a very hi-tech place, which can be a great place for some training." - she explained - "The trip there will be really worth it to recruit their advanced army too."

"Alright." - the sky knight said - "Okay, guys, once we find the Condor, we'll head to the Techne Reign." - he told his squadron that was standing nearby.

"You won't have to wait for too long!" - Henny shouted from the sky - "Orion and I just found the Condor nearly intact a few miles west from here." - she told them as both her and her partner landed near them.

"Well, then take me there. I'll bring the Condor here to pick everyone up." - Stork said as he climbed on Orion.

The trio took off as the others observed them.

"Let's get ready to leave, then." - Aerrow said as he entered a hut to dress his uniform again. And so did Piper.

* * *

"Thank you for your help, Storm Hawks." - Chief Khoj said - "We'll gladly join you in the war. Just say the word and our armies will be ready for battle."

"Yeah. We'll begin the preparations right away, so we'll be available to fight as soon as possible." - Qwan completed.

"I can't wait to fight alongside you guys again." - Aerrow said as he shook hands with both of the Chiefs.

"We're looking forward to it as well." - the Chief of the Muskeghy Village told him.

Piper watched as the sky knight talked to the Chiefs and the others gathered a few things the villagers offered them as a thank you for their hard work on helping protect the village. She frowned a bit. Something was wrong... It was then that it hit her, so she gasped and went straight to Aerrow to tell him what she had figured out.

"Aerrow." - she called him, drawing his and the Chiefs' attention - "There's something amiss."

"What's it?" - he didn't understand.

"In the end of the battle against those muddy creatures, there was no sign of the Night Crawlers anywhere." - she told him.

"Wait a second... So that means..." - he said and he didn't even need to finish his thought.

A young boy suddenly appeared, running desperately towards the Chiefs.

"Chief Khoj, I just picked up a warning letter from the Central Temple. The Reignition Stone is gone!" - he gave the bad news.

Everyone gasped.

"How? What happened?" - the Chief asked.

"The Hooded Shadows knocked out all the guards and stole the crystal!" - the little kid said dismayed.

"So that battle was all a big distraction to keep us busy. They improved their strategy even more this time." - Piper said.

"What's gonna happen to the people from the Morast Reign now?" - Aerrow asked.

"We'll be fine, we'll work on a way of stabilizing everything even without the Reignition Stone." - Khoj told him.

"Why is Cyclonis after those crystals? She stole the one from Warmya Reign too." - the navigator wondered.

"The Reignition Stones are said to have an enormous amount of power. When all of them are brought together, their power is multiplied a thousand fold." - Qwan explained - "What exactly she wants to do with that power is a mystery, though. There are many other powerful crystals in the Greatland, why would she go through the trouble of gathering all the stones?"

"Whatever it is, it must be really bad news, so we better prevent her from stealing anymore crystals." - Aerrow said.

Their talk ended as a familiar sound was heard: the Condor's loud horn was like music to the Storm Hawks' ears. The ship landed gracefully in front of the village's entrance.

"Ah, finally." - Finn said - "Now I can take a bath." - he then ran towards the Condor's open hatch.

Piper shook her head. Finn could be so silly. And what manners, he didn't even say goodbye to the villagers.

"Time to go, guys." - Aerrow said as he began to turn around.

"Good luck in your journey, young warrior." - Yma said to him as he passed by the entrance.

"Thanks for all your help, Yma." - he continued walking and entered the Condor.

The ship rose in the air and hailed the village one last time. Every native waved at them, and they waved back. The Condor flew in the skies and disappeared in the distance.

* * *

Cyclonis was in a dark room, a Night Crawler entered, bringing the Reignition Stone from the Morast Reign with him. He handed it to her.

"Another one for my collection." - she said as she placed the crystal in a kind of candelabrum, on a spot beside the one where the crystal from Warmya was - "Now I just need a few more."

She just stared at the candelabrum in thought. Soon she'd have all she needed to put her big plans into motion. And soon the Storm Hawks would pay for destroying her terra...

 

* * *

**NEXT EPISODE:**

**Episode 55** (parts 1, 2, 3 and 4)


	10. Episode 55 - Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kaya, the Grandmaster is an OC by CarlottaStudios from DeviantART.
> 
> You can view her profile [here](https://123leyang321.deviantart.com/art/Kaya-CarlottaStudios-s-OC-made-with-mouse-only-379273724).

**Episode 55 - Overload!**

**Part 1 - The Grandmaster**

The Condor flew in the skies, heading to its next destination.

"Anything you could tell us about Techne Reign before we get there, Henny?" - Piper asked their foreign friend.

"Well, I've never been there in person before, but I've heard a few things. It seems the whole place is literally made of technology." - Henny told her.

"What do you mean by that?" - Aerrow didn't understand.

"I guess we're about to find out." - she said as she stared at the window from the bridge - "We just arrived in Virtualis City."

Everyone else followed her gaze and it led to something amazing. They all gasped when the clouds disappeared as they passed through them, revealing the reign. The whole place shined, for it was made of metal. Everything had what seemed to be electronic circuits running by them, which could be seen by several bright lines of light, even the trees, the birds flying in the sky and many of the people walking on the streets! Nothing seemed to be natural or organic. Like Henny said, everything was technology.

"I can't believe it, everyone is part machine." - Stork said. It was indeed unbelievable, he would never trust a machine to replace any part of his body!

"Woah, that's awesome! I've never seen a real robot before!" - Finn pointed to a machine that was sweeping the sidewalk.

"Haha, cool!" - Junko said as he stared at people ordering some fast food in a restaurant and receiving their order instantly. There were nearly no lines, since the service attended the customers that fast.

Radarr also watched the windows excitedly. He saw kids playing in a playground, and the place itself had special features he'd never seen in a playground before. He just had to go there whenever there'd be enough time!

"Well, where exactly are we headed?" - Aerrow asked.

"According to Yma, the Grandmaster is supposed to be in a bar near dock E, which's the dock reserved for visitants from everywhere in the Far Side." - Piper told him.

"Uh... I think we found it." - Stork said, drawing their attention to the window again.

They were getting close to quite a small place, completely filled with airships and other carrier vehicles they had never heard of. There was almost no space left for them to park their own ship, which was one of the smallest ones.

"This doesn't really look that welcoming for visitants." - the navigator commented.

"I think this is the dock where people can come and go freely. Dock A is the elite one, for important people or those who have special permissions and such." - Henny explained.

"I guess that makes sense." - Aerrow said.

"How come we're not considered important? Don't we appear in that prophecy that says we'll save the world?" - Finn questioned - "Haven't they heard of it?"

"I don't think that's the same kind of important she was talking about, Finn." - Stork told him.

"She meant important as in commercial and political deals. That dock is for royalty or very influential merchants." - Piper said, and Henny nodded to that.

"Hey, I think I found a spot we can park at." - Junko pointed out a narrow space between two huge vehicles.

Soon, the Condor was parked and everyone was out in the docks.

"Well, it fit just fine." - Stork commented as he checked the ship out for any possible scratches on the hull.

"Good. Now we gotta look for the Grandmaster in that bar." - Aerrow pointed to the place.

It was a small building and not the cleanest one, but it seemed nice enough for everyone in there. Once inside, they saw the place was crowded by many different people. Races they've never seen. People of all kinds, colors, sizes... You name it, and there was someone like that. Everybody stared at them when they entered through the double door, then all just went back to minding their own business. Well, at least that place was definitely more welcoming than the Skyside Shanty, but they couldn't help feeling a bit... Insecure. They had no idea of who those people were.

"Ah, welcome to EE, a humble bar where everyone can come in!" - a robot barman said as they approached the counter, then he began giggling - "Get it? Because EE stands for everyone and we're in dock E, which is the public dock? Funny pun, eh?" - upon seeing the blank and confused stares, he cleaned his throat and changed the subject - "So... How can I help?" - he asked as he cleaned the counter.

"We're looking for someone." - Piper told him - "We need to find the Grandmaster."

At that, a hooded person sitting nearby on the counter briefly lifted their head.

"Oh, I see. Just wait here then. The Grandmaster will come to you." - he spoke in a low voice, so he'd not draw too much attention.

They blinked a bit confused, but still waited. Then, the hooded person that overheard them approached.

"You're not from here, huh? Why do you wanna see the Grandmaster?" - the person asked.

"We're the Storm Hawks, we came from the other side, from Atmos, after a really dangerous person to arrest her. We were told by a farseer called Yma, from the Morast Reign, that we had to seek special training from the Grandmaster." - Aerrow explained.

The person stared deeply into Aerrow's eyes for a moment, then stood up from the chair.

"Very well. Follow me, I'll take you to her."

The Storm Hawks exchanged glances. Well, that was easier than they had thought. That is, if they could really trust that mysterious person. They quickly looked back at the barman.

"Yeah, that's what I was talking about. Somehow the Grandmaster would reach you first." - he gestured for them to follow the hooded person.

So they did that. They walked by a sidewalk, heading for another small building. They entered the place and walked through the large hallway towards another door that led to a narrow corridor. In the middle of the corridor, the hooded person stopped.

"So... Should we wait while you talk to her?" - Junko asked.

"Nope, because she's right here." - the person removed the hood and tossed it aside while turning around - "I am the Grandmaster."

There, in front of them, was a small human girl, probably 8 or 9 years old. She wore a black uniform with white gloves, boots and belt, and silver bracers, anklets and shoulderpads plate protections. She was equipped with an armor made of blue striker crystals modified to provide defense on her shoulders, arms, legs and some crystal fragments coming out of her belt behind her, forming a semi skirt. She also had a white headband decorated with smaller fragments of striker crystals, and she held a short silver staff with two blue striker crystals, one on each end. She had black hair tied into a ponytail, black piercing eyes and fair skin.

Well, that was certainly a surprise.

* * *

They all stared at her speechless.

"Wow, that's..." - Aerrow tried to think of something to say, but he was out of words.

"Haha, _you're_ the Grandmaster?" - Finn said as he began laughing - "This has to be some kind of joke." - he then laughed even more.

Piper watched that and became irritated. She was about to snap at him when, suddenly, the small girl snapped her fingers, generating some sparkle from them, and that caused Finn's hair to turn pink.

He let out a high pitched scream at that.

"What did you...?" - he was going to ask, but she interrupted him.

"Well, if you don't believe me, then try me." - she said as she turned around and walked a few feet away from them - "Take my staff out of my hand. By any means you can think of." - she lifted her open hand in the air, the weapon just lying on its palm - "I won't look, turn around or use my other arm." - she told him as she placed one arm on her back.

"Heh, that's child's play." - the blonde said as he pulled out his crossbow.

He aimed and shot, but the shot... Missed? Everyone blinked.

"Did Finn just miss?" - Junko asked in disbelief.

"No. She dodged." - Aerrow said.

"What? No way! I didn't see anything!" - the wallop was surprised.

"Exactly." - Piper told him - "She dodged so fast that we nearly missed what she did."

So... She could do things in the blink of an eye... Literally. There was just no way Finn would pass on that little test of hers.

"Eh... I was taking it easy on her." - the sharpshooter said - "Let's see her avoid this."

He then began shooting several times at her, and again, she dodged everything without breaking a sweat. That made Finn even more annoyed, so he shot faster and faster. This time, since there were way too many arrows to dodge, she parried them all with her staff by spinning it on her back.

She yawned.

"Are you done yet?" - she asked - "We don't have the whole day, you know."

He then tried a different approach: he ran towards her and tried to pick the staff from her hand. In the first attempt, she knocked him down with her staff before he could even touch it. In the second one, he managed to get a hold of the staff, but oddly enough he wasn't stronger than her. She simply moved the staff around until his grip on it slipped, so he was thrown backwards and fell on his butt a few feet behind her.

"Well, I guess this is over now." - she said.

"No, I'm not done!" - he stood up one more time.

"Oh yes, you are." - she said a bit annoyed as she shot a bolt from her staff and hit him squarely in the forehead, knocking him down again.

Once he dizzily sat up, he noticed one thing: his skin was blue! He screamed like a girl again.

"Change me back!" - he demanded as the Storm Hawks laughed and she turned to face him.

"Watch your tone! You're lucky I didn't turn you into a frog or something. You're gonna stay like that until you learn some manners and respect or I'll send you to the corner!" - she said it like she was a nanny disciplining a small bratty child and pointed at a corner in the wall near the door behind them, then she turned around once more and proceeded to lead them down the corridor - "So... Yma sent you."

"Yes. She told us you would..." - Aerrow began.

"No, wait, let me guess!" - she interrupted him almost unable to hold her excitement in - "She told you I'll help you improve your skills to fight the person you came here to arrest."

"Yes, that's Master Cyclonis." - the sky knight said, somehow not surprised she figured all of that out. She was known as a warrior trainer, and people so far seemed to be aware Cyclonis was around, even if they didn't know who she was exactly.

"And she also said I could help you two master the 4 bridges." - she pointed to Aerrow and Piper.

Well, now her knowing that particular detail was rather surprising.

"How did you know?" - he asked.

"Your auras are linked. And I also see the bridge of the mind connecting you two together." - she explained - "Well, you came to the right place." - she said as she opened another door at the end of the corridor.

The door led to a huge white empty room.

"This will be where I'll train you." - she said - "For now, at least."

"But... There's nothing in here." - Junko was confused.

"Not for long." - she pressed a button on the wall, then the whole room changed.

Suddenly the sky appeared, the floor changed to a dusty ground you could find outside somewhere, real trees appeared and several kinds of arenas, running circuits and training grounds surged out of nowhere, with weapons, armor, etc.

Everyone let out "woah"s and "wow"s. Now that was awesome!

"That's pretty cool." - Aerrow commented.

"Oh, you said you were the Storm Hawks, so you must be the leader." - she said, making him blink.

"Did you see it in my aura?" - he asked - "I'm Aerrow, by the way."

"Aerrow... Nice name. It has a good ring to it, alright." - she said in thought - "Yes, it showed me you're a natural leader: you're brave, strong, confident, daring... Hm... And quite good looking too, I have to say." - she told him, which made him feel awkward, specially because Piper, Radarr, Henny and Orion began giggling at that - "You're just like I expected. Well, except for the hair. I thought it'd be shorter." - she pointed at it - "But, you know, I think I liked it better that way." - she said as she floated off the ground to be face to face with Aerrow, then she reached out her hand and quickly stroke his hair with a mischievous smile on her face, pretty much giving him some kind of noogie.

"Hey! What are you doing?" - he moved away from her, then looked at his hair: it was completely messed up.

Everyone else laughed at that as he frowned annoyed. Oh, great... Their new master was going to pick on him. And all his friends had no problem with that!

"What about you, big guy?" - she said to the wallop.

"I'm Junko!" - he said as he offered his hand to her.

"Oh, nice to meet you!" - she greeted him while shaking his hand - "You have a strong grip. I've never met a wallop before, but you seem like a kind one. Aren't they generally tough, angry and a bit scary too?"

"Well... I think many are, but not all are like that once you get to know them. My aunt was very nice." - he said.

"Ah, I see, it was your aunt who gave you those knuckle busters then, huh?" - she touched the metallic weapons in his hands - "I can feel some of her aura left in them, she wanted you to remember her when wearing them." - she told him.

"Really?" - he was surprised and touched by that, he even stared happily at his hands.

"I see you've grown a lot. From a scared and insecure little wallop that let others tease you to a strong, brave and confident one that knows what it means to be a real wallop, no matter how much others might tell you otherwise." - she said - "You've proved yourself out there, big guy. Showing your strength and intelligence by beating your superior, while at the same time having a kind heart and sparing his life."

"Wow, how did you know all that?" - he was quite surprised. Was she like a farseer too?

"Your aura told me everything. What happened to you defines you now, so it's what makes your aura." - she explained.

They all looked at her impressed, except for Finn who was still mad because of the change in his appearance. Looks like the Far Side had lots of very wise people. And she seemed to be wise way beyond her years. She walked towards Stork.

"Oh, you're a merb! That's nice!" - she said.

"I'm Stork, the carrier pilot and mechanic. I guess you're 'reading my aura' right now." - he then looked at her face and saw her expression - "What? Is there something wrong?"

"You see... Your aura looks... Well, it's covered in mindworms." - she explained.

At that, his eye began twitching. She giggled to herself at him, trying to hold her laughter, until he overreacted.

"Invisible... Mind... worms...?" - he then let out a loud scream as he ran desperately towards somewhere without even paying attention to where he was going.

He ended up bumping into a huge shelf filled with many heavy weapons and other gadgets, which fell on him, making a loud noise. Everyone gasped and ran towards him, to see if he was alright. The Grandmaster was the first to arrive and she pushed some weapons aside until she unburied him. He was completely panicked and breathing heavily.

"Hey, hey, chill out! I was just joking!" - she said with a worried expression while offering her hand - "No need to overreact. You really gotta work on that paranoia of yours and learn some sense of humor." - she put her hands on her hips after she had helped him up - "You should've seen your face, though. Hilarious! Man, that was priceless!" - she giggled.

Stork just stared at her not amused at all, but she ignored that. Her eyes were on someone else, now.

"Wow! You're Piper! As in THE Piper of the Storm Hawks!" - she said excitedly.

"Uh, yes. I am." - the navigator replied shyly.

"I've heard a lot about you!" - the Grandmaster took her hand and shook it vigorously - "I really admire your work! You're my most favorite crystal mage ever! It's an honor to meet you!"

"Oh, wow! Thank you... But I think I should be the one honored to meet you." - she felt a bit awkward, she wasn't expecting to be complimented that way by such an important person, but she couldn't help feeling glad someone recognized her like that.

After she let Piper's hand go, Finn approached.

"Name's Finn, but I'm also known as the Finnster." - he said proudly - "So, what do you see in my aura? Am I impressive?"

"Yeah, impressive indeed... Impressively stinky." - she put her hand on her nose to prevent her from feeling the smell - "I can't stand the awful smell of your aura!"

"What? Did I forget to put deodorant this morning?" - he began smelling himself confused.

The girl blinked in disbelief and face palmed. That was worse than she thought. She could only shake her head in disappointment.

"Are you serious? You could be so much more if you weren't so arrogant. I only see 3 accomplishments in your aura. Those were the few times you put others before yourself, and even then, you had someone or your guilt convincing you to do the right thing." - she lectured him - "You better learn you're not the center of the universe, or the universe is gonna teach you that. And it won't be pretty." - she advised him.

Her words made the blonde frown in thought, he had some things to reflect about. The Grandmaster sighed and stared to the side. It was then that she saw Radarr and immediately knelt to be on his level.

"Oh, my Gosh! It's Radarr!" - she looked at him very closely, her eyes sparkling - "I've heard about you as well, little guy! You're much cutter than I had imagined!"

That made the mission specialist chirp happily.

"Please, can I pet him?" - she turned her head to Aerrow.

"Uh... Sure." - he said, not entirely certain why she asked his permission to do that, when Radarr wasn't his pet.

She proceeded to scratch the animal in the head, and when she found his special spot, which was behind his ears, he let out a pleased sound and closed his eyes, felling very relaxed. He was wiggling his tail a bit and his foot thumped on the ground.

"Aww! He's so adorable!" - she picked him up and gave him a hug, surprising him a bit, but he seemed to have taken an instant liking to her.

Then, she looked at Henny and Orion.

"Ah, you two must be the ones who escorted them here, right?" - she said.

"Yes!" - the Warmyan replied excitedly - "I'm Henny and this is my partner, Orion."

"Oh, a Xeedwox!" - the Grandmaster was very interested in him - "Come here, let me take a look at you." - when the dragon-like creature approached, she touched his head - "Ah, he's very healthy and strong too. You've been raising him pretty well, he looks great."

"Thank you so much, Grandmaster!" - Henny said, making the other girl giggle.

"Just call me Kaya, okay?" - she smiled, dismissing the formality.

"Ah, Kaya! What a beautiful name!" - the lilac girl said in thought - "I'm a big fan of your work! I've read a lot about your career and your feats, and it was amazing! Too bad the books never said much about your identity, so I never had a chance to figure out who you were."

"I'm the one who told the writers not to speak about my identity. You see, I don't really like being swarmed by the crowd. I like the peace of being with few people." - Kaya explained.

"Oh, it's understandable." - she said.

"Well, shall we begin your training then?" - the girl said as she turned into a black Mynall bird with blue feathers on the lower part of the wings and the tip of the tail and blue eyes - "Follow me."

However, everyone was in shock, except for Henny and Orion who just stared impressed.

"Wait, you're a shapeshifter!" - Piper pointed out.

"But the only ones who can do that are... Guardians!" - Aerrow said while reflecting - "Are you a Guardian too?"

"Yeah, why?" - Kaya was a bit confused by the sudden weird reactions.

"I... Had no idea there were Guardians in the Far Side." - he said quietly.

"Of course there are, silly!" - she giggled - "The Guardians come from a time before the terras existed and the Greatland was isolated from the rest of the Atmos."

"You mean, before the Great Storms?" - the crystal mage asked.

Wow, now that was ancient.

"Yep." - she replied.

"Wait, wait, I'm confused." - Junko said.

"Looks like we'll need a quick history lesson, then. Story time!" - Kaya said as she turned into a human again and sat down on the floor - "Sit around me, guys, I'll tell you what happened."

* * *

_"In the ancient times, when the world was a whole, people lived in peace. Everyone could just walk around everywhere they wanted to, because all the world was a single huge land, surrounded by a huge sea."_

As Kaya explained, everyone imagined what it was like. The huge land, the people being able to go anywhere by land, several types of environments being able to have direct contact with each other. And the biggest sea ever imaginable surrounding it all.

_"But then, things changed when a man did something horrible. He was a powerful person, who controlled a huge empire ruthlessly: he was known as the Emperor. One day, while visiting the Temple of the Titans, very powerful entities that were dormant for millenniums, he used their sacred shrine to fuse every single type of crystal together, creating the most powerful crystal ever: the Helix Crystal."_

Everyone imagined a man dressed like a king walking inside a magnificent temple and throwing all kinds of crystals into a crystal forge, forming the twisted orange crystal they've heard about.

_"That crystal drained the power of the Titans and redirected it, so the user literally could use their powers for his own benefits. He tried to threaten everyone and oblige them to join his empire, or there would be drastic consequences."_

Everybody imagined the powerful man holding the crystal and showing some of its powers to scare people and force them to do his biding. However the people resisted.

_"What he didn't know was that unleashing the full power of the crystal would cause a big catastrophe that would not only destroy the world, but also lead him to his downfall."_

They imagined the biggest storms ever, swallowing the whole world. The land being ripped apart until only mountains like the ones from the present were left and the new ground below everything was filled with lava and deadly magma beasts.

_"The Greatland was the last large portion of land standing. The huge mountains around it bought its people sometime to fight. The Emperor was caught, but his family had disappeared. They tried to destroy the Helix Crystal, but it was impossible, so they shattered it instead and sent its pieces all over the world, so it'd be impossible to find them, in case someone tried to rebuild the crystal. Then they sealed the Temple of the Titans in another dimension that no one can enter, to prevent anyone from trying to use the power of its sacred shrine again."_

They could see in their minds all the people from the Far Side fighting alongside to defeat the evil emperor. They imagined all the Helix shards landing in random places over the Atmos, and the Temple fading away from the world.

_"But to keep the seal working, a lot of power was needed, thus the Reignition Stones were created and given to every reign in the Greatland. The Emperor had been sentenced to death for what he did, but before he was executed, he claimed that one day one of his kind would come back and finish what he started. And it was also then that the Legend of 6 warriors that would be there when this happens was born."_

* * *

"Woah... I never knew about that!" - Junko was surprised.

"Hm... Let me guess, the Emperor was referring to Cyclonis when he said that. So she's his descendant." - Aerrow said.

"That's very likely, but it's not possible to know for sure. This story is so old that it could actually be anyone among a large group of people." - Piper explained.

"What? You don't think Cyclonis is the heir? She already stole two of the Reignition Stones." - he questioned her.

"I know. What I mean is that there could be someone else behind this." - she commented - "I'm just saying that so we won't be surprised in case things turn out different from what we first thought."

"Yeah, that makes sense." - he spoke - "But still, we know for sure that at least one person has that goal in mind. So what about the other Reignition Stones? We have to guard them. And how can we know which one Cyclonis is after?"

"I don't think you'll be able to intercept her all the time." - Kaya told him - "I think it'd be best if you tried to stop her only if you have the chance to do it easily, and just so you can buy extra time to prepare for the worst."

"That's true, Aerrow." - Piper agreed - "And even if we manage to track her down, we have no idea of what we'll find there, so we need to be prepared."

"I guess you're right." - he admitted after giving it another thought - "Well, since we have to be prepared, is there anything else we need to know about this story you've told us?"

"Remember when I said it'd be impossible to find all the Helix shards? Well, that is unless someone finds an Infinity Stone. That crystal is able to show the person the location of all of them." - Kaya told him - "But, only 3 Infinity Stones ever existed: one of them was destroyed to create the Helix Crystal, the other is the one discovered by Rash in the Atmos and it was also destroyed, and the third one was never found, or at least, never made public. So it's still nearly impossible to rebuild the Helix Crystal." - she explained.

"And why is that? Can't Cyclonis find the Infinity Stone?" - he asked.

"Well, she could _if_ she ever found any clues leading to its location, but they don't exist." - she said - "Seriously, finding the last Infinity Stone is like finding a golden grain of sand in a beach. It could be anywhere and you'd have to search very thoroughly to be able to spot the crystal. There are big chances you might miss it if you ever overlook somewhere."

"What if she uses a crystal locator?" - Piper asked.

"It won't make any difference. One thing very few people know that had never been listed in any records is that if the Infinity Stone sits idle for too long, it becomes a dormant crystal." - the Grandmaster explained.

"So it ceases giving off its energy... Which's what we need to figure out the location of a crystal when using the locator..." - the crystal mage realized.

Guess the only way to find the crystal was indeed by looking for it conventionally. Maybe they still had time. Though, knowing Cyclonis, she probably already knew about that and was frantically working on a way to quickly find it. So they still couldn't just relax.

"Hey, Kaya. Could you tell us a bit more about you? Like how you became a Guardian and what they were like? I never found this information in the books." - Henny asked.

"Of course! I've been training to become a Guardian since I was little." - she began - "Uncle Ayrgyn and I spent a lot of time together. He taught many things I needed to know to pass on the test."

"You're Ayrgyn's niece?" - Finn questioned - "But how can you two be related if he's in the Atmos and you're in the Far Side?"

"The Guardians used to be a large group of people in ancient times." - she told him - "When the Great Storms were over, most of the Guardians left for the Atmos to look for survivors and a few remained in the Greatland. My uncle was one of the Guardians that went to Atmos."

"How did they get past the mountains?" - Stork inquired - "Did they fly over them? That's a death sentence."

"We Guardians have nearly omnipotent powers, flying over those mountains isn't too hard for us." - she answered him.

"O... What?" - the sharpshooter didn't understand.

"Omnipotent, it means having unlimited power, being able to do anything." - Piper explained to him.

"Cool... I'd like to have some of this om... stuff." - he said, making the navigator shake her head.

"That's not possible. At least in your case." - Kaya said - "To ascend to the Guardian status is not an easy task. The first Guardian ever took 90 years to achieve that."

"Great... What's the use of having all that power if you're gonna die soon?" - he mumbled.

"Die? Uh, hello, I've been here since the ancient times!" - she waved her hand - "Am I dead? No, I'm alive and quite well."

"No way!" - the blonde simply couldn't believe that.

"So the Guardians are immortal?" - Aerrow asked.

"You could say that, but it's not that simple." - she began to think of an easy way to explain - "When we earn our omnipotent powers we become able to lock ourselves in time, so we won't age. So, technically, we can live for as long as we want or, better put, as long as we're needed."

"What do you mean 'as long as you're needed'?" - Junko had a doubt as well.

"By making ourselves 'immortal' we're not joking around with our lifetime, we're alive because of our destinies. We know why we're here and what we're meant to do, so we'll keep ourselves locked in time until we have to fulfill our destinies, then we'll allow ourselves to age and die like everyone else." - she explained - "My destiny is to help you fight a great evil that's about to come. That's another reason for why I had to stay in the Greatland: to wait for you. Once I'm done with my task, I'll unlock myself."

"That's interesting... I might study how that works..." - Stork commented to himself.

"So when you mentioned you heard about us, was it Ayrgyn that told you those things?" - Piper asked.

"Yes. My uncle sent me several astral letters telling me about what he saw and what he did." - she nodded.

"Astral letters?" - the wallop questioned.

"It's the fastest way to communicate when two people are far away from each other, only Guardians can do this. We think of a message then send it to the stars. Then, the Guardian that has to receive the message will get a signal in the sky only he can see. The stars will show him the message and it can be seen even under plain daylight. You know, when you see the very first star in the sky and it's not dark yet? It's almost the same thing." - she explained - "Here, let me show you."

She clapped her hands twice then the roof parted itself in half, showing the night sky above them. Suddenly, her eyes shone in blue light, she pointed one finger towards the sky and began moving her arm as if she were writing something. Then, some stars in the sky flashed once.

"What just happened?" - Finn was puzzled.

"I just sent a letter to uncle Ayrgyn, telling him you guys found me." - she said, then the starts blinked once again - "He just replied. He said he hopes you're having a nice stay here and that he'll meet you again."

"That was incredible!" - Henny clasped her hands together while looking at the sky in admiration.

"Wow, I can't believe it's already dark! I didn't even notice the time passing by while in here with that fake sky in the ceiling." - Aerrow commented.

"Me neither." - Piper agreed.

"I don't even feel tired." - he said.

"Well, but you better rest anyways." - Kaya told him - "Tomorrow we'll begin your training and it'll be really tough."

"I guess so." - he gave in.

"I have many spare rooms in this building. It was supposed to be a kind of academy, but I gave up on the idea after seeing what being crowded by many people is like." - she said - "So feel free to use them! They're right here in this other corridor, follow me."

They all entered a corridor to choose their rooms, so they could stay the night.

 


	11. Episode 55 - Part 2

**Episode 55 - Overload!**

**Part 2 - Tough Training**

Everything was calm during that night in Techne Reign. So calm that it gave someone the perfect opportunity to put an evil plan into motion. A lone Night Crawler climbed up one of the docks and sprinted in the street. He wore a bit more armor than the rest of his clan and he had yellow eyes, instead of purple or red ones.

He hid behind trees when he saw security robots patrolling an area, so they'd not spot him. He made it to a kind of square and looked for something... There! On the ground, an access to the sewer, which was a secret passage that led to the main control panel of the reign. The Night Crawler walked close to the round metallic grate and noticed it was too small for him to fit in... Or so it appeared... He figured out the grate was being concealed by a holographic illusion, so thieves trying to go down through it would give up on the idea after being fooled by the hologram, but that didn't happen this time.

He also noticed the grate had a complex puzzle that had to be solved in order for it to open. Well, now he had three obstacles: getting rid of the hologram that was very likely going to have sensors concealed by it, solving the puzzle and getting in without alerting anyone or letting the system know he opened the grate, because the security would obviously be monitoring that.

First, he picked up a roll of metallic paper from his pocket and proceeded to unroll it until he had obtained an amount of paper that had the same measure of the grate's circumference. He carefully placed the metallic paper on the edge of the grate, blocking the hologram's path by reflecting its light, so the sensors wouldn't activate. One problem down, two more to go.

He observed the exposed grate, it showed many of its circuits and some cables were also visible. He considered cutting the cables... But that'd be way too suspicious and the security would track down where the issue came from quickly. Maybe he could fry the circuits. Nah, the result would be the same as cutting the cables... Ah! Jamming the system would be a good idea!

He picked up a device and connected it to the circuits. He began sending several fake signals to the circuits, flooding the system, so the actual signals produced by the grate's security system would be missed by the guards monitoring it.

Now, all he had to do was solve that complex puzzle... He opened the holographic panel and touched it, typing commands to prompt the system to show him the puzzle for him to solve. The puzzle was a bunch of very complex codes that had to be rearranged in the correct order to generate the open command. He touched the panel, sliding lines of code to their correct places, until he finally managed it in only one, but long try.

The grate opened and he used another device to scan for traps and such. He found out that only the ladder had a trap on it that would set off an alarm if he touched it. Hm... Very clever... The height from where he was to the ground down there was quite big, a normal person would definitely break both their legs if they jumped in there. But he was no normal person. He was a skilled soldier, so he jumped down and landed perfectly on his feet.

He walked to a panel that showed an arrow pointing towards the control panel, then he ran. Once he got to the control panel room's door, he discreetly peered through the tiny window. There were two guards and a robot inside, plus a security camera in the ceiling. He peeked up a leech crystal and let out a pulse, cutting the power of the room for a few seconds, then he threw the unstable crystal inside, which exploded and knocked out both guards and injured the robot. He then got inside and quickly put a screen with a fake video that'd loop over and over right in front of the camera, to fool whoever watched it for sometime.

When the power came back, he looked for a small hole on a machine and inserted a memory card in it. The computer did the rest: a program was opened and began hacking the system, now the Night Crawler had access to everything in the reign. He used that to look for something he had come to retrieve: the Reignition Stone. Once he found its coordinates, he set up a big virus attack that would begin right after he picked the crystal up.

He got out of the room and made his way towards a corridor that'd lead to quite a maze he'd have to go through to find the access to the room where the Reignition Stone was being kept. He used his scanning device again and discovered several traps in the way. He smirked at the challenge. Well, that was going to be one long night for him, but guess that didn't bother him...

* * *

"Alright everyone! Out of the bed! It's time to begin your training!" - Kaya shouted in the corridor, making all of the Storm Hawks go out of their rooms.

"What time is it?" - Finn wondered as he walked sleepily in the corridor.

"5:00am." - the Grandmaster said.

"5:00am? Why do we have to wake up so early?" - he asked.

"Because you have a lot of work to do? Gee, that's so obvious! How come you didn't figure it out by yourself? You're much denser than I thought." - she said, attempting to stir him up.

"Hey!" - he was clearly insulted.

And it worked. The more irritated he felt, the harder he'd work, or that's what usually happened with the lazier and more arrogant pupils she had trained so far.

"Well, moving on... Follow me. Each one of you will use a special place prepared for the training you'll go through." - she spoke as they all entered that big room they were in the day before - "Alright, I've identified the training grounds with numbers from 1 to 6: Aerrow, you'll go to number 1, Piper, number 2, Radarr, number 3, Junko, number 4, Finn, number 5 and Stork, number 6. I'll go to each one to begin your training schedule for today, so just wait until I come to you."

When the team had arranged themselves in the correct training grounds, they turned to look at Kaya. The first one she went to was Aerrow. His training ground was an arena.

"Okay, let's start with some tests before we begin." - she told him as she pressed a button near a small pillar - "Say the name of your worst enemies."

"Ah... Cyclonis and the Dark Ace are the worst of them, I guess." - he scratched his head - "But there's also Carver, Ravess, Snipe, Repton..."

"Okay, that's enough. Wow, you've got lots of enemies there... Now let me check their profiles." - she looked at a holographic screen that contained information and even pictures of the Cyclonians - "Hm... Okay, let's start with this." - she pressed a button - "Aerrow, I want you to defeat the Dark Ace."

A holographic image of the talon commander appeared and he looked just as menacing as always.

"Well, that's easy." - he pulled out his swords and lit them up.

The sky knight and the hologram clashed at each other a few times, attacking, parrying and dodging until Aerrow finally won without way too much effort by disarming his opponent.

"You took 10 minutes... You're holding back, Aerrow." - she told him.

"What? But..." - he was confused. Why would he hold back against an enemy? He gave that fight his all!

"You have two swords and he only has one. Yet, when you managed to parry with only one sword, you didn't use the other one to your advantage." - she said.

"I... Never thought about that. I guess..." - he stared at his swords.

"You're afraid of hurting your enemy too badly. That's nice of you, but remember, they're not afraid of injuring or murdering you, so you shouldn't show too much restraint." - she spoke - "Let's try again, but differently. I want you to defeat him in less than one minute and by using a maximum of 5 moves."

The hologram appeared again. Aerrow stared at it for a few seconds in thought, trying to figure out a strategy.

"C'mon, Aerrow. He'd not just stand there and let you think how you're gonna beat him. Clock's ticking!" - she urged him to act faster.

The Dark Ace hologram made the first move, he shot a bolt of red energy at Aerrow and the sky knight dodged. 1 move. He leaped in the air and struck with both his swords, but the talon commander parried. 2 moves. He used all his strength and the momentum of his attack to push the Dark Ace backwards, disorienting him for a second. 3 moves. In that split second he crouched and kicked the Cyclonian's legs, knocking him to the ground. 4 moves. Then he focused a bit to perform his special move, the Lightning Claw. The blue bolt of energy hit the Dark Ace directly, knocking him out. 5 moves.

"Oh, great timing, you did it in 40 seconds and with exactly 5 moves." - she said - "Now that's what I'm talking about!"

"That surely felt amazing." - he confessed.

"By the end of your whole training, you'll defeat the Dark Ace by just looking at him." - she giggled.

"That'd be... If he was still alive." - he told her.

"Yeah... Well, it's too bad he won't be around for you to kick his tail. But he's still gonna be very useful in your training later. Now let's enhance your body a bit, before we can enhance your combat skills." - she said - "Warm up in this running circuit over there while I introduce the training to the others. I'll be back soon."

"Alright!" - he said and ran towards the circuit.

Kaya approached Piper and Radarr that waited, since both their training grounds were nearby.

"Your training will be very similar for now. I need you two to meditate for a while, because I'm gonna teach you something really cool." - she said.

"What's it?" - Piper asked.

"I'll teach you how to see and interact with auras. You'll become aura whisperers. Well, I guess Radarr might not be able to learn how to see the auras, I think it's too much for him, but he can learn how to smell them. So he can be... An aura sniffer." - she shrugged sheepishly.

The animal chirped at that.

"Wow, that sounds really great!" - the navigator commented.

The small girl smiled.

"Alright, then clear your minds from everything and concentrate on finding your own essences. I'll be back in a few minutes, so you'll have meditated for long enough."

The crystal mage and the co-pilot sat on the ground and focused, while closing their eyes. They were really taking that training very seriously, they'd do their best.

Kaya approached Finn's training ground.

"So, what are you gonna teach to the best of the best?" - he asked smugly.

"Hit that target." - she said as she pointed to a dummy a few feet away from them.

"Is that it? You can be more specific. Do you want me to hit it in the eye or the nose?" - he was kinda disappointed she had been rather blunt with his instructions.

"Hm... Okay, hit it exactly between the eyes, then." - she voiced it differently after noticing he was truly interested in his training.

He aimed for a second and shot, hitting squarely in the right spot.

"So, what's next?" - he blew his finger.

"Hit these targets in the head with only one arrow." - she said, pointing to three dummies lined up side by side.

Finn aimed and shot at a pillar that was nearby. The arrow ricocheted and hit the three dummies in the head, one after the other in a straight line.

"Impressive, huh?"

"Meh, nothing special." - she said as if playing hard to get, after all, it'd be easier to get him to push his own limits if she kept acting like he was okay but not there yet - "If you manage the next one, then it'll be something."

"Hmpf." - he mumbled as he followed her.

"Hit this target." - she said as she pointed to a large stone blockade.

"It's a wall..." - his eyelids fell halfway completely unimpressed.

"No, I'm talking about the dummy behind the wall." - she had him follow her for a second to see there was indeed a target beyond that wall.

After walking back to the position he should shoot from, he looked around and saw there was nothing he could use to ricochet his arrows and he obviously couldn't shoot through the wall. He couldn't shoot upwards either, because the ceiling wasn't tall enough to let ballistics do its thing and guide the arrow to the target from above, it'd hit the ceiling before it began to fall. So that was...

"It's impossible!" - he said.

"No, it isn't. I should've known you'd not be aware of this trick. Guess you're not so good, after all, Mr. Sharpshooter." - she commented teasingly.

"Oh, yeah? Then why don't you hit the target?" - he said as he handed her his crossbow.

"Sure, if you're up to being utterly humiliated, that's fine by me." - she shrugged casually and walked to his position.

She closed her eyes for a few seconds, then she opened them and shot an arrow while moving her arm from the left to the right. The arrow literally made a curve around the wall and hit the target right between the eyes.

"No way! How did you...?"

"I changed the arrow's trajectory, that's how. It's a trick that can come in very handy for sharpshooters. I'll teach you how to do it, so you'll be more useful and unpredictable in battle." - she told him as she gave him his crossbow back - "First, you gotta learn how to go into an adrenaline surge. Here, keep trying to do this." - she took him to another place - "Catch that ball over there."

He stared at his challenge. He was supposed to put his hand inside a box with several rotating saws that moved around really fast to reach the ball and retrieve it.

"You've got to be kidding me..." - he said quite afraid of trying it - "If I don't do it right in the first try I'll lose my hand!"

"You think I'm crazy? These saws aren't real. They're just holograms, go for it." - she said.

He put his hand inside the box and right after he immediately screamed as he pulled his intact hand out. He had seen the hologram show him his hand had been cut off, and that scared him a lot. Plus, his brain had truly tricked him into believing he lost his hand, so he felt the pain. But he soon calmed down when he saw his hand was right there in his arm, just fine.

"But they do look and almost feel real." - she smiled in sympathy - "Keep trying. Call me when you manage it." - she told him as she walked towards Stork.

The merb was in front of two walls with shelves filled with many books.

"Stork, I'll help you become a tech specialist." - she said.

"A tech specialist?" - he asked.

"Yes. You're a mechanic and an inventor, which's great, since that already opened the doors for you. What I'm gonna teach you is advanced tech stuff, like hacking systems, building A.I.s and such. You'll need that knowledge here in the Greatland a lot." - she explained.

"So you've mastered this area as well..." - he began to wonder what the requirements for becoming a guardian were, because, from what he remembered, Ayrgyn didn't seem like a guy that understood much technology.

"Not really. I'm not that into it. I know a little, but not everything. Only someone with a true passion can truly master this area." - she told him - "Let's start with the basics. I'm sure you'll really pick up the pace on your own soon."

She put him through a quick test about logic. He was meant to solve a tricky puzzle in one minute. The puzzle was about a simple system. He had never seem something like that before, but he managed to solve the puzzle correctly in time.

"Not bad! How did you get to that answer?" - she asked.

"Well, it reminded me of how an engine works. So I could relate to the puzzle somehow." - he told her.

"Nice comparison! I knew you'd have a knack for it. Now you'll have some light reading." - she gave him five really big books that probably had thousands of pages - "They'll explain the basics, then you can read these others for the advanced knowledge." - she gestured to a large pile with dozens of books of about the same size - "This tech stuff is something you'll pretty much teach yourself. The same way you're creative when it comes down to building things, you can be creative while hacking as well. You just have to think outside the box, and I see you're good at doing that. I'll be back later with some tests for you. Have fun!"

She walked away to allow Stork to study. She made her way towards Junko's training ground.

"So, what am I gonna learn today?" - the wallop asked.

"Well, I'll help you increase your strength, then I'll teach you how to meditate to both control it and your hunger. Guess I'll also teach you how to cook! This will help you become more cautious and focused." - she told him.

"Cool!" - he smiled excitedly.

"Let's begin with some endurance tests." - she said - "I want you to carry me around in your back while running in this circuit for as long as you can."

"Alright." - he said as he kneeled so she could climb on his back, then he walked towards the running circuit.

"Ready? Go!" - she said as she shapeshifted into a heavy Xeedwox.

He could feel she was much heavier, she wasn't heavy enough for him not to be able to carry, but he surely would get tired fast. And he wasn't supposed to use his knuckle busters to boost his strength, so... After several minutes, he began panting and breathing heavily. Yeah, he was tired, but he could keep up for a while until he collapsed.

"That's enough, Junko." - Kaya said gently as she turned into a human and leaped from his back - "You lasted quite long. You may rest now. Meditate for a while, this will be your next training."

He nodded and walked to a spot where he could sit comfortably. He looked funny while meditating. It was his very first time doing that to actually augment his body instead of just keeping that typical wallop temper under control, so it probably would take a while for him to get used to concentrating into something so specific for that long without feeling sleepy.

Henny approached Kaya with Orion close behind.

"They all seem to be really focused. Training warriors looks like hard work for sure." - she commented.

"Yeah, it's a lot of hard work, but it's fun and very rewarding when you see your warriors came out of the training so improved." - the Grandmaster told her.

"Oh, I see." - the Warmyan smiled - "Hm... Kaya, besides looking for your help, we also came to this reign to send a message to the ruler about a union of the reigns in the fight against Cyclonis."

"So you wanna propose him an alliance. Sure, I'll tell you how to get to him." - she said as she picked up a holographic screen - "Here, this map will show you the way. Just follow this green line, it's not too far from here. Ah, and take this note from me, this way the guards will let you in without questioning."

"Great! Thank you!" - Henny said as she took the map and the note from Kaya - "So, guys, Orion and I will deliver the message to the ruler of Techne Reign while you're training, okay?"

"Good, this way we won't waste any second to only either train or warn the kingdom." - Piper commented then went back to meditating.

The lilac girl and her Xeedwox ran towards the entrance to the building and exited it. They walked by the sidewalk, following the map. Then they saw that there was a section of the sidewalk that moved and most people used it to get around.

"Oh, this is so cool, a shortcut!" - she said excited.

She saw a panel that had a map and asked for a person to pick a destination. She pointed on the map the location marked on the map Kaya gave her, then the panel lighted up a small platform and told her to stand on it, saying it would take her to the desired place. She and Orion stood on it, and it moved quite fast towards their destination.

"Great. We'll get there in no time, then we can take a look at the city before we get back." - she said to Orion and the Xeedwox nodded happily. He was also excited and curious about that amazing place.

* * *

"Okay, Piper and Radarr, have you found your essences?" - Kaya asked to the two meditating Storm Hawks.

"I'm not sure. But I can feel my own presence, it's strange, it's as if I'm perceiving the world with other eyes." - Piper said, and Radarr nodded in agreement.

"Ah, then you managed it. Now let's begin the training. Just like you managed to feel your own presence, try to find the presence of others around you, try to feel how their auras interact with yours." - she instructed.

"I think I can feel Radarr beside me, and you right in front of us." - the crystal mage said, the co-pilot nodded again, indicating he could feel them too.

"Good, now try to find something in the aura of someone near you. Anything about them." - Kaya instructed.

"Hm... I can feel... Radarr misses a certain hen from Terra Gale." - Piper smiled at that.

"Aww..." - the Grandmaster found that so adorable!

The mission specialist chirped surprised and embarrassed by having this little secret of his revealed out loud. But then he smirked and made some noises, as if he were talking.

"Ah, I agree with you on that one, Radarr. She certainly does." - the girl smirked as well.

"Huh? What are you two talking about?" - the navigator asked.

"Nothing!" - Kaya replied playfully.

"What is it?" - Piper asked again out of curiosity as she opened her eyes.

"Oh, no, don't open your eyes yet! You're gonna..." - the Grandmaster tried to warn her, but it was too late.

What Piper saw were several colorful blurs everywhere and she couldn't see anything properly. The colors were so vibrant, so intense, that she began feeling a really bad migraine. She even winced in pain while putting a hand on her forehead.

"I can't see... My head..." - she said weakly.

"It's okay, I'm here. I'll take you to the infirmary so I can heal you." - Kaya said as she helped Piper up - "Keep your eyes shut, or the headache will get worse. And Radarr, just meditate and clear your mind from everything, so you can open your eyes again. I don't know if your eyes were affected, since your training will have a different result, but better safe than sorry."

"What happened?" - the crystal mage asked.

"You opened your eyes too soon, so you saw the energy from the auras directly, without any filter or protection. And that energy is very intense, it's too much for the human eye if it's unprotected." - the Grandmaster explained.

"Then how do I protect my eyes?" - Piper asked.

"I was gonna teach you that, but you already opened your eyes, so you'll have to rest for a while to recover from this." - she told her.

When the two walked by Aerrow's training ground, he immediately noticed something was wrong. So he ran towards them.

"Hey, what happened?" - he asked them - "Are you okay, Piper?"

"I'm fine, I just have a migraine." - she told him.

"Don't worry, she'll be okay. This can happen in this kind of training sometimes. I'll heal her in the infirmary, then she'll get some rest to recover." - Kaya explained - "Now go back to your training ground, because I'm about to start your training again!" - she said as she walked with Piper to the infirmary.

He didn't question them, he just went back to warming up, hoping Piper would recover soon.

* * *

In the infirmary, Piper was laying on a cot while Kaya placed a floating nil crystal above her head. It sent energy waves that would heal her overtime. The crystal mage looked calm, but Kaya could tell something was going on inside her mind.

"What's it, Piper?" - she asked her.

"Huh? Oh. Well, when we passed by Aerrow, I could see his aura even with my eyes closed. And I could feel it reaching out for me, as if it were trying to help." - the navigator said.

"Ah, I see. Yeah, his aura does that a lot, I read through it." - the Grandmaster told her - "You probably don't know it, but ever since you two first met, your auras interacted with each other. They knew you were compatible, that's why you could literally just stare at each other and share the same idea. I learned that from just glancing at them. By the way, you had a hard time while using the Binding a while ago, didn't you?"

"Yes, why?" - the blue haired girl wanted to understand that sudden line of thinking.

"Your aura was scarred by that. But I see you recovered when he healed you, right?" - she said - "It was because in that dangerous situation, when you were very weakened, Aerrow's aura wanted to lend some strength to yours, but it couldn't until you two unlocked the perfect attunement."

"I didn't know that. To tell you the truth, I still have no idea of how or why we reached this perfect attunement." - Piper admitted - "I mean, if we were compatible all the time, why didn't that happen right away when we first met?"

"Don't worry about that, you'll find out all about it. I don't want to spoil the fun of discovering this mystery." - Kaya smirked - "Well, just rest now. I'll go check on the others." - she walked to the door and left the room.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can view the yellow eyed Night Crawler's profile [here](https://123leyang321.deviantart.com/art/The-Exiled-made-with-mouse-only-427194482).


	12. Episode 55 - Part 3

**Episode 55 - Overload!**

**Part 3 - System Compromised**

Kaya walked towards Aerrow. He had been waiting for quite a while. He was almost growing impatient.

"Is she...?" - he was going to ask if Piper was okay, but the girl interrupted him.

"She's fine. She's resting in the infirmary. In a couple hours she'll be ready to go." - she assured him - "Now, for her sake, I want you to focus! She's doing her best and she'll need your help, so you better be well trained."

He nodded. He'd do his hardest as well. Suddenly, Radarr appeared, and he was just fine, the meditation really helped.

"Hey, Radarr! Do you wanna train with Aerrow to make him some company?" - she asked him, and the little animal nodded excitedly, that was the very reason he had come to them - "Alright. This part of the training is meant to enhance your strength, speed, flexibility and resilience. Let's start with some push ups. Pay 50!"

Aerrow and Radarr positioned themselves and began the push ups. Not long later they had done 50 and didn't look tired. So far it had been easy going.

"You have a good start, now let's see if you can keep it up." - she said - "Pay 500, but with weights on your backs this time."

"500? Isn't that too much?" - the boy asked. It was one heck of a difficulty spike going from 50 to 500.

"I just wanna see how long you can last. It's okay if you don't make it to 500 in one go." - she gestured for him to position himself, then she sat on his back to be his extra weight - "Now, c'mon! Go!"

He felt the difference when his arms pushed him upwards. That was certainly harder than a normal push up.

* * *

A while later, he was feeling quite tired already, but still kept doing the push ups.

"C'mon! Give me more, Aerrow!" - Kaya shouted in support - "You call that a push up?!"

He groaned and panted.

"I'm trying my best, Kaya!" - he panted some more - "I... Need to stop a little!"

"Quit whining! Do at least one more push up, then!" - but upon seeing he wasn't doing it yet, she muttered under her breath - "Piper'd be ashamed..."

He blinked, remembering he had sworn to do his hardest. He forced his arms to push himself up one more time.

"There!" - he said as he breathed heavily - "How much was that?"

"201! 299 more to go!" - she told him, causing him to look downwards in dismay. And to think he wasn't halfway through that yet...

He rested on the ground, panting a lot to which Kaya giggled.

"I'm so evil." - she said while staring at the spectator (well, reader in this case), breaking the 4th wall.

Aerrow looked to the side and noticed Radarr doing push ups beside him, and the weight on his back was a holographic pigeon.

"Hey, how come he gets something super light as his weight when I had to carry you?" - he complained - "That's not fair, he should be carrying as much as I was."

She blinked.

"Are you suggesting that I sit on Radarr?! How inhumane of you! He's too small to carry me!" - she pulled a paper fan out of nowhere and slapped his head with it - "Now go back to doing push ups! No more breaks for you!"

"What? That's not what I said, I meant proportio..." - he tried to explain himself but she hit him one more time with her fan - "Ouch!"

"Don't back talk to your master, Mr.! You wanna go to the corner too?" - she pointed at the nearest intersection of two walls.

He didn't have a choice now, so he struggled to do a few more push ups, his arms were shaking from the extra effort, then he collapsed completely exhausted.

"I can't... Keep up... This is too much..." - he panted a lot, almost unable to speak.

Kaya stood up, getting off Aerrow's back, so he could properly breathe.

"See? That's what I call discipline." - she nodded approvingly, then turned to the little animal near her - "Radarr, take a break now, you're looking a little tired. Let's go see how the others are doing." - she said as the co-pilot stood up and followed her.

The two walked away, leaving Aerrow alone so he could rest. He deserved it, he had trained really hard and he was doing his best. They were walking when they heard Finn scream.

"YES! I DID IT!" - he held up the ball triumphantly.

"It was about time. You were taking longer than you should've." - Kaya said to him, making Radarr shake his head at him disapprovingly. Slow as always, huh, Finn?

"Hey! That wasn't easy!" - he snapped.

"Hm... Now that I think of it, I should have Aerrow learn that as well." - she mused to herself.

"Uh... What about my training? I've been stuck trying to catch this ball for hours!" - he said.

"Well, since you've finally experienced the adrenaline surge, I'll teach you how to induce yourself into it. You know, without going through all this." - she told him as she gestured towards the fake saw machine he had been using to train - "Basically, all you gotta do is to convince your brain that you can do the impossible and pressure it against time." - she gave him his crossbow and took him to the place where he had to shoot a target behind a wall.

"Alright, I can do this." - he whispered to himself and proceeded to focus.

"No, no... You're doing it wrong." - she stopped him - "It's not a matter of concentration, it's a matter of quick instinct. Have you ever just drawn, shot and hit before?"

"Yeah... A few times." - he told her - "But I thought I had to focus to do this. I don't know, it seems kinda different from point shooting."

"Well, it's not exactly like point shooting, but you still go by instinct." - she explained.

"If you say so..." - he shrugged.

He was about to draw his crossbow when she interrupted him.

"Wait, let me give you some extra support." - she positioned herself in front of the wall - "Now you don't have a choice, you _have_ to do it right."

He blinked.

"What kind of support is that? This is pressure, it won't help me!" - he said.

"Just do it!" - she shouted at him.

He just stood there frozen for half a second, then quickly drew his crossbow and shot. The arrow made a curve around the wall and Kaya, then hit the target in the head. Radarr's eyes were wide open. Wow! He couldn't believe Finn had just done that! Finn himself had a bit of a delay to register he had just learned a freaking awesome new trick. The Grandmaster smiled. Perfect.

"Good job! Guess you're not so bad after all." - she praised him, causing the blonde to grin widely, boy, it felt like such a bigger accomplishment to actually earn a compliment than get it free - "Now keep practicing until it becomes natural for you."

The sharpshooter promptly performed another shot, hitting once again the target right between the eyes. Kaya nodded approvingly. He'd get that down in no time, he was a fast learner when he wanted to. Then she turned to Aerrow, who was still laying on the ground.

"Hey, Aerrow, come over here." - she shouted for him as he tiredly stood up and walked towards her - "While you're on a break, try to catch this ball from this box."

She gestured to the same box filled with moving rotating saws that the wingman had been training with. Seeing that, Finn turned to Stork who was reading a huge book by the table nearby.

"Betting now he'll fall for it." - the blonde said with a smug smile.

Aerrow just stared at the box then reached inside without a second thought. But he failed. He saw his hand being cut off in the hologram, truly frightening him.

"Woah!" - he quickly pulled his arm out and saw his hand was there, no harm done, then sighed in relief.

"Haha! Got you too!" - Finn teased him, causing the redhead to roll his eyes, then he turned to the merb - "You owe me a few bucks."

"I never bet anything." - Stork said nonchalantly, not having removed his eyes from his book the whole time, to which the blue eyed boy just sulked disappointed.

"Keep trying. And call me when you manage it." - Kaya told Aerrow, who nodded as she and Radarr made their way towards the carrier pilot.

The merb was sitting on a desk filled with piles and more piles of books. He was reading all of them and he seemed to be quite entertained by the subject.

"So... I see you're enjoying yourself." - she said as she approached him.

"This knowledge is fascinating indeed. I've learned so much, but there's still a lot to read." - he told her, his eyes still glued to the pages.

"That's nice. Can you tell me something you've learned?" - she asked.

"Well, I learned how to create an A.I., I've even assembled a robot here that'll spray some Brain Slug repellent whenever it detects that it wore off from the air." - he pointed at a little robot that looked like a kind of bug holding a can of repellent on top of its back.

It walked on the desk randomly then sprayed a bit of repellent towards Kaya and Radarr. The girl took a step backwards, to avoid the direct spray, then used her hand as a fan to push the air impregnated with repellent away.

"That's impressive. I see you're getting the hang of really fast. I'll let you read some more before I bring your tests, then." - she told him and took Radarr to see Junko.

In fact that was a reason for why she left Stork to the books so early, but it was also because the air was smelling awfully bad where he was from so much repellent! She somehow felt that he had brought more than just one can, so she hoped he'd run out of repellent eventually. After taking a good breath of pure and clean air, she approached the meditating wallop.

"How's it going, Junko? Have you managed to concentrate?" - she asked.

"Yeah. I feel stronger and... Precise. It's a little strange." - he opened his eyes to look at her and shrugged - "I fell asleep a few times in the beginning, though. It's hard to do that for too long, but I'm getting better. I just meditated for half an hour and I'm not sleepy yet!"

"Great! Glad to see you're progressing. Now let's teach you how to become cautious by cooking!" - she put a hand on his arm and led him to his training place.

He had a very large grin on his face. He had really been waiting for that one. He so wanted to make something to eat!

* * *

Henny and Orion had just arrived in front of where the ruler should be. The building wasn't way too different from the others in that city. The only noticeable difference was the adornment above the double door that looked like two giant gears moving, one smaller on the left and one bigger on the right.

The two shrugged and went to knock on the door, but suddenly, a few robots stopped them.

" _Identify yourselves!_ " - a robotic voice shouted, causing the girl to nearly jump backwards.

"Uh... I'm here to deliver a message to the ruler of Techne Reign." - she showed the letter with the seals of Warmya Reign and Morast Reign - "Oh, I also have a note from the Grandmaster, saying we have free pass." - she showed the small note that had both the signature and the special holographic seal from the Grandmaster.

" _Hm... These documents are without a doubt legit. You may pass._ " - the guard robot said as it opened the door for them.

The two went inside and were surprised by how beautiful the interior looked. There was a fountain inside pouring down water. The whole place was made of metal but it was so polished and there were several circuits running in the walls, making everything glimmer. Henny reached out to touch the water and realized the water wasn't real, it was made of light. It was a hologram! Well, that made sense. They couldn't afford frying all those circuits if water was spilled on the floor or the walls.

"So, you two have a message for me." - a man came down from rolling stairs - "A request to unite with you in a war, am I correct?"

He wore a white suit with several circuits running through it. He was tall, bald and had holographic visors in front of his yellow eyes. He was clearly partially machine, since there were some circuits running in his head and his skin looked metallic.

"Yes. Your guard told you, sir...? Ah..." - she said but then noticed she didn't know his name.

"Sibexr, no need for formalities here. Yes, it did. And who you may be?" - he asked.

"Oh, yes, sorry I didn't present myself first. I'm Henny and this is my partner, Orion." - she gestured to the Xeedwox that just sat quietly and looked at them - "So... Are you going to join the alliance?"

"Hm... From the information I gathered about Eridius's request, I'd definitely join you, but I'm afraid I won't be able to do so right now." - he said sincerely - "At the moment, we're very busy dealing with some internal issues and I can't move my forces yet."

"Internal issues?" - she asked.

He nodded.

"We've recently found out somebody has broken into our extremely tight security system. Which means our security is no longer reliable, so we have to catch the intruder, then fix the system. That takes a fair amount of time, but it's our main priority." - he explained.

"I had no idea. When did that happen?" - she was surprised.

"Yesterday, in the middle of the night." - he told her as he looked towards the ground with a worried and upset expression.

He was obviously displeased that it happened right under his nose and he didn't see it coming.

Henny shared mirrored thoughts. How could she not have noticed anything? While she knew she was probably being too demanding with herself, she still had in mind that it was important to be more attentive to her surroundings wherever she was. It would help her in the Royal Army. But then again, this intruder was certainly careful, so far nobody had figured out where he was. And that meant trouble, which they were about to experience.

* * *

The Night Crawler had finally managed to pass through all the traps of the labyrinth and found his way into the secret safe where the Reignition Stone was being kept.

"I've found the vault, Master." - he said in his communicator.

" _Good. Just bring me the crystal and let the virus do the rest._ " - Cyclonis told him.

"Acknowledged." - the yellow eyed soldier said, then proceeded to crack into the security system of the door of the vault.

After a while, he managed to unlock the door. He scanned for more traps and found several just inside the room. It was then that he activated one function of the virus: the one that cuts the power out. He made it cut the power of the vault specifically, so he could easily walk inside and pick the crystal up.

Once he removed the crystal from its support, the security system overwrote the power loss command and rang the alarm, warning the whole reign that the Reignition Stone was being stolen. The Night Crawler dodged lasers and shots coming in his direction, then slid below the closing barricade right before it blocked the only exit of the room. He ran to corridors where he had come from, then unlocked the virus so it could do its job.

The virus hacked the security system and assumed control of everything. It allowed the Night Crawler to walk freely in the sewers while it made every single machine and A.I. to go out in a rampage. Now that was trouble.

* * *

In the room inside the building where Sibexr lived, he, Henny and Orion looked around surprised.

"What's this alarm?" - she asked.

"The Reignition Stone has been stolen!" - he shouted, then ran towards a control panel in the room - "Computer, localize the crystal, right now!" - he ordered.

The huge screen showed several images from the reign, then found the intruder.

"A Hooded Shadow!" - the Warmyan gasped.

"Send 5 teams of elite guards there now!" - he ordered once again.

The computer was about to do as it was told, but suddenly, the screen went black, then only static was being shown. A few seconds later, a screen with many green codes and a black background appeared. The codes moved around endlessly.

"No! The system is down! We've been hacked!" - Sibexr yelled while slamming his fists in the control panel.

He just stared at the buttons in the panel, he looked quite angry. Henny reached out a hand to touch his shoulder, but decided not to make any physical contact.

"We have a serious issue now." - he lifted his head to stare at the screen as the girl gasped while sharing a glance with Orion.

* * *

" _Squadron log: It's been a few hours since I went into the infirmary to recover. The others are all training with Kaya while Henny and Orion went out to deliver the message about the union of the reigns._ "

In Kaya's building, everyone trained very hard. They were really focused.

" _Junko was supposed to learn how to cook to become cautious and precise. And also to give me a break from certain tasks._ "

The wallop was baking something and it actually was smelling great!

" _Aerrow is meant to become an even more skilled fighter, if that's possible._ "

The sky knight fought a few holograms of the Dark Ace at once, so he could practice with his attention split in more than one dangerous target.

" _Stork has to learn how to become a Tech Expert. I think this knowledge will help him (and us) a lot in the future._ "

The merb was still reading the books and seemed to be learning more and more, while a few different robots he had programmed were cleaning his work area.

" _Finn needs to learn a lot of things, though. One of them is to truly master his marksman skills._ "

The sharpshooter was practicing his new ability that changes the trajectory of his arrows, and he was getting pretty good at that.

" _Radarr's gonna learn how to track people down by smelling their scent from a much greater distance and also how to read their auras through their smell._ "

The mission specialist sniffed at several different objects to train his nose and also sniffed the scents left in those objects by different people, trying to read the information from their auras that was left behind.

" _As for me, I should be learning how to see auras and sharpening my crystal mastery, but I can't do that while stuck in this infirmary._ "

"In fact, I can't even write my own report of the day in my squadron log when I can't open my eyes..." - she said while she put her book on the cot she was sitting on. It was plain useless to try to write something.

She decided to come out to check how everyone was doing. She walked slowly, putting her hand on walls and other objects to support herself and to find her way around. She had her eyes closed and the nil crystal floated in front of her forehead, sending healing energy waves to her. She could still see a mess of auras even with her eyes closed, but it wasn't as intense as it had been a few hours ago.

"Good job, you guys, keep it up!" - Kaya shouted to everyone, giving them more support. She smiled proudly, they were working really hard and their progress was showing.

The navigator passed by Radarr's training ground, and he managed to track her, which made him break his concentration and look at her a bit worried. He went to warn Kaya she was there before she was completely healed. Aerrow also saw her and blinked confused. Shouldn't she be in the infirmary? His distraction led him to be hit in the nape, causing him to see stars, then thrown a few feet away by a hologram of the Dark Ace. He slowly pushed himself off the ground shaking his head as the holograms disappeared.

Kaya noticed that and looked at the source of his disturbance. She blinked surprised and went to her with a tense expression on her face.

"Piper, you should be resting! You're not fully recovered yet." - she said worriedly.

"I know. But I'm tired of being there and doing nothing." - the crystal mage commented - "Are you sure there's no way to speed up the recovery process? Or maybe a way to teach me how to filter what I see so I can heal myself?"

The Grandmaster stared at the ground in thought.

"There's a way. But it's very risky. If you don't do it right in the first time, you'll lose your normal vision forever and will be obliged to use your astral vision instead." - she said - "I'm trying to avoid that."

"So you think I might not be able to do it?" - the navigator inquired.

"Oh, no, it's not that. This doesn't have anything to do with skills, it has to do with luck. Either you're lucky and do it right or you're not and you have to trade your vision." - the little girl explained to prevent any misunderstandings - "And, well... We have just so much luck..."

Piper lowered her head, she comprehended. But she couldn't sit idle for so long. By what she figured out, it'd take quite some time to recover from that.

"I understand the risks, but there are more important things at stake than my vision. I can't slow everyone down." - she said determinedly.

"Very well, then. Follow me." - Kaya told her.

"Piper, what are you doing?!" - Aerrow asked, he had overheard them.

"I'm doing what I have to do." - she said to him dead serious about her decision.

"By throwing your vision away?!" - he couldn't believe she'd simply do that, regardless of the consequences.

"It's not as if the astral vision wasn't superior to normal vision anyways." - the blue haired girl shrugged.

Aerrow was about to counter when he heard Kaya start talking.

"Well... She's right, in part." - Kaya softly interrupted - "The astral vision shows you everyone's auras, each person will have their own unique color, while everything else will be seen in gray. The only downside is that you'll never see things like they really are, but at least you can still see."

Content enough with that, Piper gestured for the Grandmaster to take her to her training ground where she was going to master the aural vision. The two girls walked away, but they halted their steps as a power loss occurred then the lights came back almost instantly, but twice more intense. Everyone looked around confused.

"What just happened?" - Aerrow asked.

"We're in trouble." - Kaya said with a serious tone.

 


	13. Episode 55 - Part 4

 

 

 

**Episode 55 - Overload!**

**Part 4 - Hacker Hunt**

Kaya was right. After the lights had come back, several holograms of the Dark Ace appeared and attacked Aerrow, while the oven Junko was using simply exploded in his face, and the targets Finn had to shoot at suddenly began to charge at him.

The training grounds became a huge chaos. Stork hid under his desk to protect himself from harm. Radarr ran towards Kaya and Piper and hid between the latter's legs.

"Radarr, take care of Piper for me, while I deal with this mess, okay?" - the girl asked him and he nodded.

The Grandmaster ran to a small room and picked up some weapons. Then she ran around the place, destroying nearly everything in her path and wreaking quite the havoc in the process, but it was the only way to save everyone.

Aerrow was still struggling against all those holograms in his training ground. The Dark Aces had all jumped on him and were pressing him on the ground.

"Great... I never thought I'd see the day when I'd be pinned down by a pile of Dark Aces..." - he complained as he tried to get out of that situation, but in vain.

Kaya ran to him and jumped, swinging her staff in the air and releasing a large wave of energy that caused an explosion upon contact, sending all those holograms flying. Then she landed on her feet and shot at the hologram generator, destroying it and preventing more holograms from appearing.

"Are you okay?" - she helped him up.

"Yeah." - he put a hand on his head as he got back on his feet - "What's going on?"

"Someone must've invaded the city and hacked the security system." - she told him.

"Could it be a Night Crawler?" - he asked.

"I don't know. We'll find out later, we gotta save the others first. Here, take this." - she tossed one of the weapons she was carrying to him, since he had lost his swords in that mess.

It was a greatsword. That was quite a heavy weapon, so it was much slower than his blades. He'd have to adapt to that. He charged towards Junko, who was struggling against a crazed stove that tried to pin him down. He swung the weapon, slashing the stove in half. The wallop smiled at him, grateful for the help.

Kaya ran to help Finn. She knocked the dummies to the side with her staff, then shoved her hand in the middle of the mess of mannequins and broken stuff to pull the sharpshooter out. He breathed heavily as he stood up after being pulled by the collar on his shirt. For a second he thought he'd be buried alive. The two looked to the side as they heard Stork scream.

The merb was hiding under the table and two huge bookcases literally "walked" to him, broke part of their shelves and began slamming them against the table, trying to break it. The green pilot screamed in fear as he squeezed himself under the table to avoid one of the shelves injuring him when it pierced the table like a blade.

But his despair didn't last too long. Soon, Junko charged with his knuckle busters and punched one of the bookcases, which made it bump into the other one, causing both to fall in a domino effect style. Stork got out from under the table and sighed in relief. Kaya smiled at how they looked out for each other, she was also glad everyone was alright.

"What do we do now?" - Junko asked.

"We gotta find the intruder." - Aerrow said.

"Sure, let's follow his tracks!" - Stork said sarcastically - "Oh, wait, we have no idea of where he's been to find any."

"Actually, I think I have an idea." - Kaya told them as she approached holding a map - "The intruder must've been here." - she pointed in the map the exact location of the manhole the Night Crawler had really used - "This grate gives access to a passage that leads to the general control panel room. It's the only way this person could've hacked the whole city that way."

"Do you think he left clues behind? He's been so careful, I really doubt it." - Piper commented.

"True. But there's something we all leave behind without noticing: scent." - the Grandmaster said - "And I happen to have successfully taught Radarr to read auras through a scent. He can find the correct scent even without having ever smelled it before." - she gestured to the mission specialist, and he saluted, showing he was ready for his duty.

"Great, now we need a plan to catch him." - the leader said.

They all began discussing something. They had to formulate their strategy fast: that intruder could escape at any moment. And worse yet, he could take the Reignition Stone away if he was indeed a Night Crawler.

* * *

In the room from the ruler's building, Sibexr tried to figure out what to do while Henny and Orion watched him.

"I found the virus, but I can't destroy it. It keeps replicating itself!" - the man said.

"Is there anything we can do to help?" - the Warmyan asked.

"Unless you're a tech expert, I'm afraid there's nothing you could do. This is probably the worst hacker attack we've had in centuries." - he told her.

"Maybe we could go look for help, then." - she suggested - "There might be someone that can lend a hand."

"Yes, that's a good idea." - he said, then they both gasped as they saw holograms coming out of the circuits in the walls.

They were images of Night Crawlers that walked towards the three, reading themselves to attack. Orion growled at them, then swung his hardened tail at them in an attempt to slash them, but they dematerialized to avoid the blow, surprising the three. Henny looked worriedly at them, until an idea occurred to her.

"Orion, use your light explosion!" - she shouted.

The Xeedwox opened his mouth and let out a blinding blast of light. The light was so intense it consumed the holograms, making them disappear.

"It actually worked!" - Sibexr was impressed, but the joy of being impressed didn't last long.

Soon other Night Crawler holograms appeared again, over and over. And over and over they were blasted by Orion and consumed by the intense light from his attacks.

"We can't do this forever. Orion's gonna run out of energy eventually." - she urged the man to think of something.

"I'll have to overload the building, then. It'll fry all its circuits, preventing them from appearing again." - he said as he started typing codes in the control panel - "There. It's set to overload in five seconds, so get down!"

He jumped towards her, knocking both to the ground as Orion shielded the three with his wings. The whole building began short circuiting and letting out light explosions on the inside. After the process was finished, the two humanoids stood up, Henny waving her hand around to push the smoke aside while coughing a bit.

"I think that did it." - she said.

"Yes... Too bad I didn't have time to make a back up of all the information in this building, though. I lost a lot of things..." - Sibexr was upset.

"I'm sorry. At least we're safe." - she tried to comfort him.

But her words suddenly meant nothing when they heard something beating on the doors of the building: those were the security robots and they were trying to get inside!

"Not for long... We have to get out of here!" - he warned.

"Right! Orion, break that wall!" - she pointed to one of the walls, and the Xeedwox charged at it, destroying it with its horns.

She and Sibexr climbed on him, and he took off at the very moment the guards managed to break through the door, so they made a narrow escape.

"That was a close one." - the ruler said.

"We better get to the Grandmaster's training grounds quick." - she said as Orion sped up, flying in the night sky.

* * *

In Kaya's building, the girl sat with Piper near the corridor. Both meditated.

"Alright, to filter the vision, you have to focus on only what you need to see. And that's where the luck comes in." - Kaya explained - "If you focus too much, you'll lose your normal vision, while if you don't focus enough, you won't filter anything. And the problem is: how much you must focus depends on each person's eyes. I can't see with yours... So there's no way to tell you how to do this..."

"Understood. I'll try anyways." - Piper said as she concentrated.

"Master Kaya! Piper!" - Henny shouted as she ran towards them.

"Henny! Glad to see you're okay. Let's talk somewhere else, Piper needs to be alone, so she can focus." - the girl said.

"What happened to her?" - she asked.

"She had a problem with the aura whisperer practice, so she has to go through this to finish her training." - then she looked to the side and saw Orion and the ruler of the reign walking towards them - "Oh, you brought Sibexr here."

"Yes, we came looking for the others, we need help. The reign's been..." - Henny told her.

"Hacked. Yes, I know. We just had a small issue with the equipment here." - she said as she gestured to the completely wrecked training grounds.

"Woah! A small issue? This looks like a battlefield after a war." - the Warmyan was quite surprised.

"Well, I had to destroy everything." - the Grandmaster shrugged.

"Just like Sibexr..." - she said in a low tone - "Ah... Where are the others?"

"They all went out there to find the intruder. They were heading to the grate protecting the access to the main control panel." - the little girl said.

"What? But it's dangerous! The Hooded Shadow made rampant holograms appear out of every circuit!" - Henny warned.

"Well, we dealt with all the holograms here without any problems. They should be fine." - Kaya assured her.

The Warmyan blinked.

"Really? Wow... I mean, when we were attacked in Sibexr's office, those holograms seemed to be so smart, phasing out to avoid Orion's attack." - she mused - "We only managed to escape because I told him to use light blasts, so the holograms'd be consumed. And that bought Sibexr sometime to overload the building."

"WHAT?! They know how to phase in and out on their own?!" - the Grandmaster shouted worriedly from the top of her lungs.

Henny just nodded with a kind of scared expression in her face. Now that was sudden.

"This is bad..." - she said with a serious tone - "We gotta find them now! I haven't trained them against that kind of enemy yet!"

"I'm going with you." - Piper said.

Everyone suddenly turned to her. She stood there smiling, her eyes open and her irises shining. Kaya nodded and they all went outside.

* * *

Aerrow, Finn, Junko, Stork and Radarr sprinted in the sidewalk, trying to get to the grate. What they didn't know was that where they were running on was one of the moving paths that had been turned off because of the virus. But once it found them, it turned the path on.

Suddenly the ground began moving in the opposite direction they were walking, which made them all fall on the floor and be dragged backwards.

"Everyone, get out of the sidewalk!" - Aerrow shouted as he rolled to the street, the others doing the same - "We better run in the streets."

They kept running until an electric holographic wall appeared out of nowhere right in front of them. Aerrow was the first to stop, but Finn and Stork didn't do it in time, so they bumped into him, pushing him towards the wall. He stared quite scared at the wall which was inches away from him, then sighed in relief, until Junko came and bumped into them again, finally pushing him into the wall and electrocuting him. When he jumped backwards, he came out smoking a bit, then he glared at the wallop.

"Oops, sorry." - the flight engineer said.

Aerrow dusted himself off while Radarr came running. Soon the sky knight wouldn't be the only one that got shocked: Radarr slipped on the extremely smooth ground, sliding towards the wall and crashing into it. He came back smelling like barbecue. His fur was very burned and he was smoking a lot. His face showed he was clearly pissed off.

But their problems were about to get even worse as Night Crawler holograms came from the ground. The way the holograms appeared scared Finn, Stork and Junko, who pulled the first two into a hug, nearly breaking their spines. Aerrow pulled his swords out and began fighting the enemies made of light, until he realized they were dematerializing to dodge every single one of his attacks.

"How can I beat something I can't even touch?!" - he shouted angrily.

"We'll show you how!" - Henny yelled to him.

They all looked at the sky: the Warmyan was flying with Orion and she had brought Piper, a man they didn't know and Kaya with her. The last one was flying in the form of a Mynall bird. The Xeedwox landed near them, and Piper and the ruler climbed down, then the creature let out a very bright light blast, making all the holograms disappear.

The guys cheered, glad they had some back up with them.

"C'mon, let's not waste time! Follow me, I know a shortcut." - Sibexr said, and everyone followed him without questioning.

"Who's he?" - Aerrow asked.

"That's Sibexr, ruler of Techne Reign." - Kaya told him as she flew by him.

He smiled. Good, at least they weren't following a complete stranger. Who knows what could happen if they were...

They all got to the grate very quickly. Sibexr knelt on the ground and pressed his code, but the grate immediately responded with "access denied".

"It's locked and I can't open it with my admin code." - he said.

"Let me crack it open." - Junko said as he activated his knuckle busters and punched the grate with all his might, which Sibexr watched with his eyes wide open. The punch nearly hit him!

That didn't seem to do a thing, though, only trigger the alarm the virus had set up, making more Night Crawler holograms appear.

"Use your light blast again, Orion!" - Henny shouted.

The Xeedwox blasted the holograms another time, trying to stall them so the others could figure out a way to open the grate.

"What now? We don't have much time." - Finn urged.

"Overload it." - Stork and Sibexr said in unison, which made them blink and look at each other.

The ruler typed a few codes, which set the system to overload in 5 seconds.

"Everybody, down!" - he shouted.

All jumped on the ground, covering their heads as the grate exploded. Now all Junko had to do was pick the useless piece of metal up and throw it away, granting them their passage.

"Since we overloaded the security system of the grate, the traps from the ladder are offline, so we can climb down." - Sibexr told them as he climbed it down.

Everyone followed him, until Henny noticed something.

"Orion won't fit." - she said.

"I think neither will I." - Junko commented as he struggled to unstuck himself.

The others stared at them hesitantly.

"It's okay, keep going. We'll watch over this entrance until you get back." - the wallop said.

The ones that managed to go through the hole of the grate kept running down in the sewers. More holograms appeared, so Piper and Kaya stepped in: they had crystals that could create explosions of light, so they destroyed all of the Night Crawlers made of light.

"Nice move!" - Aerrow said.

"It's called Flare. Kaya and I worked on it when we found out the Night Crawler holograms couldn't be destroyed by weapons." - Piper told him.

They kept running until they made it to the control panel door, which was left open, so they just entered the room. At that, Radarr picked up the scent, since the Night Crawler had spent a fair amount of time there, so he finally found his aura. He chirped, signaling everyone that he had managed it.

"Radarr found the intruder's scent!" - Aerrow informed.

"We still have to solve the problem about the compromised security system, though." - Piper said.

"But we can't let him get away either." - the sky knight responded.

"No, we can't, especially because he has the Reignition Stone with him." - Sibexr told them.

They all gasped.

"We gotta go after him now!" - the redhead said urgently.

"You won't get too far. With that virus dominating the system, all doors will be locked for you. We have to take the system back." - the ruler said.

"Alright, then let's split up." - Kaya suggested - "I'll stay here with Stork and Sibexr to protect them while they try to hack this virus. The rest will follow Radarr and go after that guy."

Everyone nodded in agreement and proceeded with their parts of the mission.

Aerrow, Piper, Finn and Radarr ran in the sewers, then they found a closed gate in the way.

* * *

" _We have an obstacle in our way._ " - the leader said in his communicator.

"I know, I'm working on it." - the merb said as he typed in the control panel - "There, that should do it."

* * *

The gate opened in front of them.

"Thanks, Stork." - he said as they all kept running.

* * *

The carrier pilot and the ruler worked together to find the virus. Stork managed to find something else, though.

"I found him." - he said, then Kaya and Sibexr approached.

The pilot showed a video footage in real time of the intruder after he had finally managed to gain control of the security cameras.

"Guys, the intruder is trying to escape to the docks!" - Kaya said in the merb's communicator.

* * *

" _Follow this green path Stork is going to highlight for you!_ " - she warned them.

They saw a green light illuminating the path and went straight into it. Radarr could feel the scent was disappearing, since the Night Crawler had not gone through that shortcut, but he could still feel the aura, because he had managed to identify a direct link to the source of the aura, so they were indeed getting closer to him.

Not long later they managed to catch up with him. He was trying to open a grate that led to the docks.

"Freeze!" - Aerrow shouted.

The Night Crawler stopped moving.

"We got you now!" - Finn aimed his crossbow at the dark soldier, ready to shoot if he were to cause any trouble for them.

The Night Crawler simply stood up with his hands in the air, where they could see.

"It's been a long time since an enemy last sighted me." - he said while he turned around.

The four blinked. He was yellow eyed! What was that supposed to mean?! Well, that didn't matter at the moment. They just had to retrieve the Reignition Stone from him.

Aerrow and Finn stared at each other. Time to execute their plan. They both shot at the Night Crawler, making him dodge to the opposite side of Aerrow's shot, so when Finn's shot made a curve, it hit him in the leg. But there was more: Piper had given Finn some icer shards, which froze the soldier's leg on the ground.

Aerrow charged at the enemy, while Piper levitated Radarr with her arm and threw him towards the Night Crawler as well. The animal reached the distracted enemy first, then it climbed on his head and held firmly, to block his vision and keep him stunned. When the sky knight got to them, he launched himself at the crystal, grabbing a good hold of it. His weight made the Night Crawler's grip on the crystal slip, so Aerrow managed to retrieve it.

Radarr jumped from the soldier's head as Piper blasted the enemy with a Flare from a Solar Crystal. Night Crawlers would normally have resisted the light after their upgrade, but in that case, it was the pure light of the sun being intensified by a Flare spell, so it was much more effective than a normal blast of light.

His armor was weakening so he had to run away. He ran towards the grate and blasted it open with a firebolt crystal empowered by an enhancement crystal, then he jumped and fled. The four Storm Hawks weren't 100% pleased for letting him escape, but at least they had managed to take the crystal back from him.

They made their way back to the control panel.

* * *

Stork and Sibexr were working on solving the issue with the virus, which was the last problem left. They had managed to track it down, but their attempts of destroying it were not having good results, until they finally overwrote part of its code, which caused it to delete itself from existence. But that didn't seem to change things.

Their short commemoration was interrupted by a message that was triggered by the virus' destruction.

" _It seems you've managed to destroy my virus. Too bad it won't change a thing. By the time you took the virus down it had replicated itself so many times that the original virus was no longer needed to keep controlling the system. Your efforts mean nothing._ "

Yep, definitely a message written by Cyclonis herself. Kaya and Sibexr stared at the screen with worried expressions. But Stork didn't really look that bothered.

"A virus with a failsafe... Fascinating..." - he said in thought.

"Stork, this is _not_ the time to be impressed by the enemy!" - the Grandmaster scolded him.

"I never said dooming news were a good thing, though. But we still have a very slim chance to recover the system." - he told her.

"I'm going to overload the security system. That way we can keep most of the data intact." - the ruler said as he walked towards the control panel and typed a few codes.

"No! Don't do that!" - Stork warned - "The virus already infected the other sectors of the system. If you overload the security now, the other sectors will overload as well and cause most of the city to be destroyed!"

Sibexr immediately backed away from the panel before finishing his setup. That was close! He had almost doomed everyone in the city!

"So what can we do now?" - he asked dismayed, he couldn't think of anything.

"There's one thing: we have to purge the whole system." - the merb said.

"WHAT?! No! That'll destroy all the data we've stored all this time! All the information about our history and what we found out. Everything we know would be destroyed!" - the ruler shouted.

"I know... But the information's already been infected. I can't make a clean back up. And even if I could, there's so much data that it'd be impossible to fit anywhere else." - Stork showed him several files, all corrupted by the virus - "I'm sorry, but this is the only way. The virus is already destroying the data you have as we speak. It's stealing information and giving it to Cyclonis. We can't let that happen."

The ruler stared at the ground angrily. He couldn't just throw everything away like that. But... There was too much at stake. The safety of the citizens was compromised, they had to act now.

"Fine... You can purge the system." - Sibexr finally allowed the pilot to do his job.

The green guy typed several codes and managed to start a countdown for the purge. After 5 seconds a message warning the purge was about to start appeared. Then, everything went black, the lights were out and the whole reign went silent for a second, then everything was turned back on and they could see a blue screen initializing the system.

" _Welcome to the core system of Techne Reign. Here you can storage all the information you gather, configure security protocols and several other functionalities. Read the command list for more details. You may begin to use the new system now._ " - a voice from the computer said.

Sibexr just fell on his knees, feeling defeated. Everything was gone... Forever... It was like mourning all the information they lost. And what a loss... Probably the greatest loss of knowledge in history.

But something could still amuse him. Aerrow, Piper, Finn and Radarr arrived and showed him the Reignition Stone.

"Here, we did it." - the sky knight said, showing the crystal.

In fact, that was the real one, no imitations like he'd expect from one of the dark soldiers. The ruler picked the crystal in his hand, smiling sadly.

"Well, I guess we can start from zero again... Even if we might never fully recover from it." - he said.

* * *

In the morning of the next day, the Storm Hawks had packed things up to go back to their journey.

"I'm sorry for making you lose all that data, sir." - Aerrow apologized.

"It was quite the price, but it was definitely worth saving the lives of my citizens." - Sibexr said - "Thank you, Storm Hawks, for saving my people. I want you to know that I'll join the alliance. Techne Reign will send forces to aid you in battle."

"Thanks. But take your time to fix the damages that Night Crawler did to the reign. We don't want you to be vulnerable." - the sky knight said.

"We will. We're already planning a new security system. We'll use everything we've learned today to make it hacker proof. And we'll have experts monitoring all the time." - he told him - "I just need someone to watch over the Reignition Stone until we find a new place for it. We don't really trust our machines anymore."

"Orion and I will stay to guard the crystal." - Henny said.

"Huh? But Henny! Won't you come with us?" - Piper asked.

"Not this time. It's been really fun traveling with you, but Techne Reign needs help, and we can't hold you guys back." - the Warmyan told them - "Keep going, Kaya will help you guys. She knows a lot more than I do about the Greatland. I'm sure she'll help you much better than I can."

The Storm Hawks frowned in sympathy. They were going to miss those two.

"C'mon, guys. You still have to train. We gotta get to our next stop as soon as possible!" - Kaya shouted excitedly.

They all climbed aboard the ship along with her and waved farewell to Henny and Orion as the Condor took off from the ground, heading towards its next destination, going for a new adventure that waited for them.

* * *

The yellow eyed Night Crawler watched the Condor leaving the docks. He snarled at that and flew away, disappearing in the distance. They were going to pay for that.

 

* * *

**NEXT EPISODE:**

**Episode 56** (parts 1, 2, 3 and 4)


	14. Episode 56 - Part 1

  **Episode 56 - True Leaders**

**Part 1 - The Pirate**

The Condor was floating in the sky, near what seemed to be the edge of a reign's territory.

"Okay, guys, listen. We're close to Liberty Reign, so we better leave the ship here and go there on smaller rides." - Kaya said to the Storm Hawks standing in the bridge.

"Why? There's nothing wrong with the Condor." - Junko asked.

"Well, Liberty Reign isn't exactly the nicest place around sometimes." - the Grandmaster told him.

"But, they named it after freedom, why'd it be a bad place?" - Finn questioned.

"That's the problem. Freedom." - she explained - "Liberty in there is completely absolute, everyone is 100% free to do anything."

"Wait, so there are no laws there?" - it was Aerrow's turn to ask now.

"Exactly. Everybody does whatever they want." - she told him - "They do follow a code, though: don't mess with your similar. But that only means they won't do great harm to each other's business and such. Any illegal stuff is allowed. Thieves, assassins for hire, gamblers, pirates... You name it, and you'll find it there."

As she said that, they pictured what that reign would be like, full of bandits and illegal things happening constantly. It certainly seemed to be a horrible place.

"Why are we going to such a place then?" - Stork inquired mildly irritated with the proposition of having to travel to that lair of criminals.

"Because Liberty Reign is in the list of the reigns requested to join the war effort." - Kaya showed them the letter Henny had left with them and pointed to the name of the reign.

"What? I really don't think it's a good idea to ask for these people's help." - Piper said uneasily - "Who knows if they'll backstab us?"

"You have a point, Piper. But I think you might be surprised by their loyalty. You see, if anyone tried to conquer Liberty Reign, all of them would go against whoever that may be with everything they have." - the little girl explained - "So they'd definitely join our army and wouldn't turn their backs on us. They might be outlaws, but even they have standards. They'll protect each other and even outsiders that are on the same side from a greater threat."

"I guess it's worth a shot, then." - the sky knight said, though he still sounded unsure - "Let's go, everyone."

* * *

Soon all of them were flying in the skies in their skyrides, even the carrier pilot, something Junko noticed, so he approached the merb's ride.

"Stork? You're gonna leave the Condor alone?" - the wallop asked confused.

"She'll be fine. I've installed a special security system when we rebuilt her in Terra Bogaton and I upgraded it when we added the crystal imbued plates in Warmya Reign." - he replied calmly - "So if anyone ever tries to get on board, I'll know. And then they'll face my wrath..." - he said the last part with a dark tone in his voice, a sinister smile and his eye twitching at the thought.

The flight engineer stared at him with a creeped out expression.

"Eh... Okay... If you say so..." - his eyes moved from one side to another uneasily.

Kaya approached Aerrow's skimmer in her bird form. She noticed he seemed a little troubled.

"Don't worry, just let me do the talking and they'll certainly help us. I kinda have some important influence." - she told him.

"How come?" - he asked.

"Well, I helped during the argument that was going to decide whether they were gonna keep their reign as it was or if they'd have to leave." - she explained - "I said it'd be best if they kept their reign, because it'd be bad for everyone to have rogues roaming randomly around the world with a grudge against everybody because they lost their territory. The decision was unanimous in my favor. They'd keep the reign under the condition that their crimes would be restricted to only their reign and the Greatland'd be in peace. Since then they owe me."

"Why not take them all to prison instead?" - the boy suggested.

"Arresting them all would only cause havoc, believe me, some reigns have already tried that." - she said with an upset face - "Besides, their crimes are relatively harmless and they made an oath as to not bring their matters outside of Liberty Reign. If they ever leave the reign to visit another, they have to be under surveillance and have to follow the other reign's laws. They agreed with all of that and took it pretty well. Some outsiders even request services from them when they need."

"Who'd ask a thief to do something for them?" - Aerrow stared at Kaya with a weirded out expression. That sounded totally crazy for him. If they didn't like crimes, why go after them?

"More people than you think, actually." - she said - "An acquaintance once told me someone had stolen a very important family heirloom from him. He hired a thief from Liberty Reign to steal it back."

Aerrow blinked.

"Wow, I never thought of using a thief to do something like that..." - he mused. Maybe it was indeed possible to make that kind of people do good deeds, to find a good way to use their... Abilities.

"I know right?" - she giggled - "So we can have some faith in them. They might prove to be much more helpful than we'd imagine."

The leader smiled. She was right. Who knows? Since they must know how to be really sneaky, they might help them infiltrate Cyclonis' hideout and capture her without even having to make everyone go to war. His thoughts were interrupted when a giant stingray looking beast emerged from the clouds right in front of them.

Everyone stopped their rides from going any closer. The creature was relentless, it flew in the air roaring and moving its body frantically. They watched it fly confused until they noticed what was causing it to go berserk: there was a person holding onto its tail. He was a black young man, probably in his early twenties, with grayish green hair and goatee and dark blue eyes. He wore a teal bandana on his head, a red coat that was very worn out, a black thick belt, dark blue pants and black boots with metallic spikes attached to the tips. He had two swords and two pistols in his belt and also a golden earring on his left ear.

"C'mon, quit flying around like that, I need to take that pearl of yours with me, so just hand it already! You know I can keep doing this forever." - he said to the beast.

At that, the creature got even angrier, so it moved very roughly, agitating its tail with all its might. His hands slipped from the tail, but he managed to kick the beast's skin to keep himself stuck to it.

"You're just making things harder now." - he complained with a smug grin in his face, trying to get a hold of the tail again.

The beast didn't let him, though. It shook its tail even harder, making the grip from the metallic spikes on its skin get loose, then it threw the man in the air far away from it and dived into the clouds again. The man screamed as he flew in the air, until he ended up crashing into the front wheel of Piper's heliscooter. He began slipping from it, so he reached out for a metallic flat plate from one of its sides and held it, so he'd not fall.

"Woah, are you okay?" - the girl asked while offering one hand to pull him up.

He lifted his head to look at whoever was this person talking to him, then blinked. Wow! She was gorgeous! He smiled and raised his arm to accept her help.

"Thanks for the rescue, kitty." - he flirted, which made her giggle nervously. Well, that was out of nowhere.

"Piper? Kitty? Are you kidding?" - Finn said in disbelief as his ride floated beside Aerrow's, drawing the latter's and Kaya's attention - "She looks nerdy to me." - he crossed his arms looking unimpressed.

The Grandmaster glared at him while Aerrow blinked confused at the sudden topic.

As the man was about to grab her hand, Piper withdrew it quickly while gasping.

"You're a pirate!" - she said after being able to take a proper look at him.

"Oh, so you've noticed. I see you're a very observant girl, I like it!" - he began pulling himself up on his own, which made the navigator uneasy, so she shook the heliscooter's front wheel a bit - "Hey, take it easy, sweetie. I didn't mean you any harm." - he said as he grabbed the wheel more firmly and that made her attempt to retreat from him.

Aerrow definitely didn't like that approach. He rapidly flew below them while pulling out one of his swords, then shot at the man. The bolt of energy passed really close by the pirate's face, which made him lose his grip on Piper's heliscooter, causing him to fall. He landed flat on his back on top of one of the left wings of Aerrow's skimmer.

"Oww... That hurt." - he said as he sat on the metallic wing while rubbing the back of his head.

"Who are you?" - Aerrow demanded, he had already placed his sword back in its place.

"You know, you really didn't have to do that. You could just have told me to back off like a civilized man." - he said shrugging and shaking his head with his eyes closed.

Kaya giggled at what that man had implied there while Aerrow just glared at him, quite bothered by the man's last two words and somehow oblivious to what she had noticed. A pirate speaking of being a civilized man? Talk about irony.

"And who do you think you are to..." - the sky knight was about to retaliate, but then he sighed impatiently, realizing that was pointless, since all that argument would lead him to was to more teasing and the guy avoiding the topic and he had nearly fallen for that little trap - "Just answer my question!" - he shouted while slamming his fist on the skimmer.

"Alright, alright. Jeez, cool your jets, pal." - the man stared at him with a calm expression, then stood up - "I'm Captain Jake of the Bladed Gunners." - he pointed a thumb to himself with a confident smile on his face.

Well, that explained the metallic skull in his belt with a small sword and pistol instead of a cross of bones.

"Wait, I've heard about you!" - Kaya approached him - "You've been to the other realm and came back, right?"

"You're very spot on! Just like I'd expect from the Grandmaster. It's a pleasure to meet you." - he actually bowed down to her politely.

Looks like she was indeed right about the people from that reign respecting her a lot.

"Wait a sec, what do you mean by being to the other realm?" - Aerrow asked.

"She means I died then came back from the dead." - the pirate said with a small grin on his face.

"You've been... There, in the other realm..." - Stork suddenly approached the man - "What's it like there? Is it an infernally cold place, with a huge plain that goes beyond the horizon and a very thick fog surrounding everything around you, from where an infinity of things could come at you at any moment and you have to face it for the rest of your eternity?" - the merb described his question really fast.

"Ah... I don't remember it too clearly, I can't really tell you much about it." - Jake shrugged a bit uneasily, which made the pilot stare at him disappointed, then leave.

The man sat down on the metallic wing, one of his legs bent on top of it and the other hanging from the edge. He rested an arm on his knee as he observed Stork flying to his previous position in the back of the team. It was then that Aerrow and his team noticed the large scar on the man's exposed chest.

"That was a nasty wound, huh?" - the Grandmaster said.

"Yeah, the scar doesn't look pretty, I know. But I have no shame in showing it." - he told her - "I got it in a duel against a barbarian guy during a request mission. He managed to disarm me and thrust his real big sword in my chest. I can still remember the pain. That was the only fight I ever lost, how ironic."

"No way you survived a stab in the heart." - Aerrow said skeptically. He couldn't believe someone could die and come back, much less after receiving a fatal wound like that.

"I didn't." - Jake laughed a bit - "I died for real. But I guess the other realm didn't want me there, so they kicked me out and here I am!" - he joked, which made the sky knight glare at him.

How could he joke about death?! Aerrow had faced it several times and was really lucky to be still alive! That certainly wasn't something he'd joke about. It was really scary. The thought of him never being able to interact with his friends again was astonishing in the worst way imaginable.

"So... You're a captain, that means you should have a crew and a ship." - Stork deduced.

"Yep. They've been waiting for me in the docks for a while already..." - Jake told him - "Uh, you wouldn't mind giving me a lift there, would you?"

"Well, we're on our way there, that shouldn't be a problem, I guess." - Junko said.

"Excellent! Let's go then!" - he pointed towards the reign, then lied down in the wing, with his arms crossed behind his head, serving as a pillow - "I can show you guys around in return. I see you're not from here."

Aerrow glared even more at him, then looked away, towards the path he should follow with a pissed off expression. Great... He, the sky knight of the Storm Hawks, was serving as a chauffeur to a pirate!

"No, they're not even from the Greatland. They came from the Atmos." - Kaya explained.

"Wait, outsiders from OUT outside?" - he stared at her surprised - "Now that's a thing I've never heard about in my life..." - he smiled at them - "Uh... In my two lives, that is." - he corrected himself - "So, who are you guys?"

"The name's Finn, best sharpshooter there is." - the blonde said confidently while motioning his signature "chick cha!".

"Oh, a sharpshooter! We should have a match of marksmanship when we get to the town." - Jake said friendly.

"I'm Junko. I'm the flight engineer and take care of the heavy ballistics." - the wallop said - "Oh, and I'm also becoming the official cook while we're here."

"That's cool. I'd like to have a taste of your food. You do look like you could be a chef." - he said, which made the big guy smile.

The others, except for Aerrow and Junko, stared at Jake, exchanged glances, then looked at him again. Not really... Looks can be very deceiving...

"My name's Stork. I'm the carrier pilot and mechanic. I'm training to become a tech expert now." - the merb introduced himself.

"Interesting. Hey, tell you what, I'll take you guys for a stroll in my ship. Then I'll let you fly, Stork. I'm sure you'll like it."

The green skinned guy blinked quite surprised by the offer. That might be great! He'd learn how ships worked in the Far Side, then he could upgrade the Condor even more.

"I'm Piper, tactician, navigator, first officer, crystal mage, I also used to be the main cook..." - she listed her jobs.

"Oh, you're very versatile, aren't you?" - he commented - "Is there anything you can't do?" - he joked, which made her smile proudly of herself, then he looked at Radarr - "Who's this little fella?"

"That's Radarr. The mission specialist. He's just the cutest little thing, isn't he?" - Kaya approached the little animal and rubbed her head against his - "Oh, and he's not a pet. Have that real clear in your mind." - she warned him for his own sake.

"I'll remember that." - he laughed a bit - "And what about you, buddy?" - he asked to Aerrow.

But the red haired boy seemed to ignore him completely. Piper frowned at that. That wasn't like him... Kaya noticed something was wrong with him as well.

"He's Aerrow, the sky knight." - the Grandmaster said - "They all form the Storm Hawks squadron."

"Storm Hawks, huh? That name has a really cool ring to it." - he complimented them - "But what's a sky knight anyway?"

"Sky knights protect people from danger and outlaws like you." - Aerrow said to him quite a bit harshly - "And that also means I'm the leader."

"So, you're the boss, eh? Here, have this, pal." - he pulled out a bottle and offered it to Aerrow - "A nice drink, from boss to boss." - he tossed it to him, but the green eyed boy pulled his sword out and slashed the bottle in half, the pirate watched as its pieces fell down until they disappeared in the clouds - "Aww, that was my best rum..."

"First, I don't drink. Second, what makes you think we're on the same level?" - the sky knight said with some disdain in his voice as he put his sword on his back again - "I sided with justice, while you're a criminal!"

"Jeez, you're taking this way too hard, you're so yesterday. Just because I'm not a pure and righteous knight, it doesn't mean I'm some evil monster." - the pirate said unimpressed with that uptight argument - "I never hurt someone that couldn't defend themselves, I don't steal from the poor... I like challenges, thrilling missions. There's no fun in something so easy, I'm way above that."

"Well, you're definitely not like the Murk Raiders." - Piper commented - "They only cared about enslaving people to make them part of their crew and being rich. They helped us only once, and it was because Finn convinced them to join the war on our side somehow." - she explained, then looked at the blonde - "I still wonder how you did that, Finn."

"I just worked my magic, that's all." - the sharpshooter told her bluntly.

"But what did you say?" - she was quite curious.

"Hey, 'a magician never reveals his secrets'! I'm not telling that." - he said to her, which made her roll her eyes and give up on asking him.

"What a cheap bunch they are, huh?" - Jake said - "I'd rather have my crew follow me because they're loyal, not because they fear me. Fear's not the key to being a good leader, that's a fact. Lots of people that ruled through fear have been taken down in Liberty Reign, now we have no rulers."

"Hm..." - Piper stared at the clouds below in thought, and he noticed that.

"I see you probably had something in mind involving a ruler." - Jake guessed - "What is it? Maybe I can help."

"We came here to ask Liberty Reign to join the war effort." - the crystal mage told him.

"War? Against who?" - he asked.

"A dangerous empress, Master Cyclonis, ran away from the Atmos after she lost a war there. She came to the Far Side... Ah, I mean the Greatland, as you call it here, and is currently hiding. She's trying to conquer the whole world from here this time. We believe she might be in the Night Craw- the Hooded Shadows tower, but we can't just go there and make her surrender, we have no idea of what we'll find there." - the girl explained.

"Hm... So you'll need people like us, if you ever wanna infiltrate that tower or spy on her... Well, sure, you can count us in. If there's something we all hate the most is someone trying to boss our reign around." - he said.

"But how can we get the word to the rest of you?" - she asked.

"Don't sweat it, I'll take care of that." - he gestured to himself.

"There's something else you need to know. She's after the Reignition Stone." - Kaya mentioned - "Is yours properly guarded?"

"Haha, of course." - he assured them - "You can see for yourself, that is, if you can track it down."

"What do you mean?" - Junko asked.

"You know, we don't keep the Reignition Stone in one place, it's always on the move." - he told them - "We steal it from each other all the time."

"Wait, what? How can that be?" - Finn was completely confused.

"I'll explain. Imagine I take the crystal with me. A while later someone will steal it from me, then another person will steal it again and so on. This helps us train how to hide stuff and how to steal really well hidden things." - he said - "No outsider'd be able to figure out its exact location, only people from the reign that are currently working on stealing it."

Everyone pictured in their minds Jake's explanation. Yeah, that made a lot of sense, actually.

"Well, that's really clever." - Piper commented - "An interesting way of keeping it safe."

"Yep. We're way too unpredictable, it's really hard to find out who has the crystal, since any of us could've stolen it, and where the person hid it. Our Reignition Stone's safe and sound, I guarantee it." - he reassured them.

"Good... One less thing to worry about, that's the least a bunch of thieves could do. You better be useful in battle when the time comes, though I do expect you cowards to run away at the last second." - Aerrow said with the same disdain in his voice, while Jake just blinked.

The pirate motioned to the other Storm Hawks to fly a little closer, so he could speak.

"Your friend there has a really strong grudge against humble thieves like us. He's been through some tough times in his life, hasn't he?" - the man whispered.

Aerrow still heard them talking, though, but he pretended to be oblivious to that. He just kept staring at the sky in front of him with an angry expression in his face.

"Yes, but Finn and I have been through a lot as well and we're not acting like that." - Piper said.

At that, the sky knight blinked then frowned. He had not realized that until she mentioned it.

"He's just not being himself..." - she continued - "And I can't figure out why because he won't let me."

"He won't let you?" - Jake was a bit confused.

"Wait, you mean you can't perform the mind link with him right now?" - Kaya asked, to which the crystal mage nodded - "This isn't good... There's something you must know: even if you've mastered a bridge, you can lose the ability to use it if you block each other's access to your minds for way too long. The abilities only become permanent after mastering the bridge of the soul."

Wow, now that was news for them. And bad news... Piper sighed.

"It wasn't easy to go through that training to unlock this bridge... I just hope our hard work won't go to waste..." - she was a little dismayed.

Aerrow was now feeling awful. He wished he wasn't putting their training at risk, but he couldn't always share everything he thought about... He didn't want to burden her even more. His thoughts were interrupted when the pirate spoke again.

"Don't worry. He'll soften up eventually, I'm sure of it. He can't stay like that forever." - the man smiled calmly.

The sky knight felt bothered by him, but he had to admit that Jake had a point. Either he'd have to change his attitude, or he'd have to trade the link of the mind away so he could keep feeling angry without having to explain himself to anyone... He wasn't selfish, guess there was only one choice for that. He thought about it a bit and came to think of giving Jake a chance to prove he wasn't a bad person. Still, he couldn't help but feel a bit threatened by that for some reason. Well, he'd have to push all that aside: they were about to arrive at the docks, where the pirate would unknowingly go through a test.

"Ah, there they are, my crew!" - Jake stood up and waved to a bunch of people standing in the docks near a ship.

"Time for the test to begin..." - Aerrow said to himself.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can view Captain Jake's profile [here](https://123leyang321.deviantart.com/art/Capt-Jake-of-the-Bladed-Gunners-mouse-only-419295249).


	15. Episode 56 - Part 2

**Episode 56 - True Leaders**

**Part 2 - Freedom Tower**

The Storm Hawks, Kaya and Jake landed on a metallic platform in the docks, where Jake's crew waited for him. They were 5 people.

One was a white and slender woman with reddish brown hair that reached the middle of her back and honey colored eyes. She was wearing red pants, a long sleeved white top with red stripes that left her belly exposed, a black belt around her waist, black boots that reached just below her knees and a red bandana on her head. She also wore two large golden earrings.

There was a fat man with tanned skin, nearly bald except for the orange hair on the sides of the head and the beard, and blue eyes. He wore a white shirt, a black vest on top of it, dark blue pants, a black belt on his waist and black boots.

There was also a very skinny man with nearly albino white skin, blue hair spiky behind the head and light gray eyes. He was wearing a white shirt, a blue bandana concealing his face, blue pants, black boots and a black belt. He had a golden chain tied to his pants.

There was a bulky man with tanned skin, green hair and red eyes, wearing only a black vest with no shirt underneath, black boots, a black belt and red pants.

There was a very short girl that was a bit bulky as well with white skin, green eyes and blond hair tied into two short braids. She wore a black vest closed in the front without a shirt underneath, blue pants, a black belt, black boots and a blue bandana tied around her neck.

What was incredible was that they were all human. The Storm Hawks weren't expecting to meet so many humans in one place in the Far Side, but it seems that was very likely to happen.

The taller woman approached them as they got out of their rides.

"Jake, don't disappear on us like that. We were about to go look for you under the clouds." - she put her hands on her hips while speaking with a reprehensible tone.

"Yeah, I know. I didn't think that fish'd be that tough. I'll have to try again another time." - the captain explained - "Anyways, I want you to meet the Storm Hawks." - he gestured to the group behind him - "These are Piper, Junko, Finn, Radarr, Stork and Aerrow."

"I'm Skade, the ship master, navigator, 1st mate and quartermaster of the crew." - the woman with reddish hair said as she waved a hand.

"I am Gorgon, surgeon and cook." - the fat man introduced himself.

"I'm Kennit, boatswain and master carpenter." - the skinny man told them.

"The name's Russell, striker, cooper and sailmaker." - the bulky guy said.

"And I'm Dahia, gunner and master gunner." - the short woman spoke - "So, why did you come to this reign? Are you here to request our services?"

"Sort of... We came to ask you to join the army." - Kaya said.

It was then that the crew saw the Grandmaster was with them, so they all greeted her formally with a lot of respect.

"Then there's a war going on in the Greatland?" - Skade asked.

"Not yet, but soon there will be." - Piper said.

"To make a long story short, there's this really bossy person trying to conquer the world, and she's about to start a war against everybody." - Jake summed up the subject.

"Oh, I get it. That's a bummer. Well, we're totally in. Who does she think she is to boss us around? We don't have rulers and we're fine this way." - the woman said and the other comrades agreed.

"Nice to hear you're up for this, but what about the rest of the reign?" - the crystal mage asked.

"Like I said, leave that to me. Let's go for a tour around the city, while we're at it, I'll spread the message." - the captain told her.

* * *

Jake led the Storm Hawks and Kaya by the streets. The place looked a bit filthy, and everyone had a shady aspect to them. People stared at them quite curiously, then they laid their eyes on the Grandmaster and realized it was probably something important. They quickly spoke to Jake, asking what was the visit about, and the pirate would say:

"Let's all have a meeting at the Freedom Tower in two hours."

The Storm Hawks observed the place, they couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy, since they were outnumbered there. Fortunately, they didn't have to worry about anything, since the thieves and assassins just let them walk freely and were surprisingly welcoming, even going to the point where some of them, who were also merchants, offered several kinds of things for them to buy. So the party briefly stopped by that marketplace.

"Hello, you there." - a woman said to Finn - "You seem like a person that wants to look good all the time. Why don't you buy one of these?" - she held up golden sunglasses.

Finn's eyes sparkled at what he saw. He was so going to buy those glasses!

"You have a deal!" - the sharpshooter snatched the glasses from her hand and gave her the money, then put them on and smiled broadly - "Now I'm more than irresistible." - he said while checking himself out on a mirror the woman had, then he walked away.

A man dressed in black, who looked a lot like an assassin, called out for Stork.

"You, green skinned sir, seem to be a shady person." - he said.

Stork? Shady? The merb just blinked confused. Where did he get that thought from?

"Would you like to take a look at my torture devices collection?" - the man pulled a curtain to the side, showing a big variety of torture devices of all kinds inside a very dark room - "You can even test them out to see that they work before you buy them."

"That's a really nice collection... But I'm not in the mood to torture myself to death right now..." - the merb laughed nervously at that. It was true that he was impressed by that collection, but no way he was going to be a test subject!

Another woman shouted at them.

"Here, come taste our slug rat stew! It's the best stew in the market!"

"I want a bowl, please!" - Junko immediately ran there, waiting for a big bowl.

The woman gladly poured the green gooey food in the bowl and gave it to him. The other Storm Hawks stared at it disgusted. Slug rat stew?! They didn't even want to wonder what it would taste like... Just the smell was giving them nausea.

Kaya and Radarr walked in front of another tent.

"Oh my, it's the Grandmaster!" - the woman and the man working in that tent said in unison.

"Please, try this brand new scarf we've got!" - the man offered a blue scarf of the same tone as her striker crystal armor.

She tried it and stared at a mirror.

"It's beautiful! I'll take it." - she was about to offer some money when the woman stopped her.

"Oh, no, for the Grandmaster, it's free." - she said.

"Thank you." - Kaya smiled, then she saw another scarf that caught her attention - "Hey, I think this white one'd look great on Radarr." - she picked it up and wrapped it around the little animal's neck, making him chirp approvingly - "It's adorable! I'll take this one as well, if you don't mind."

"Of course not, it was a pleasure serving you!" - the man told her.

"Please, come back again!" - the woman shouted as the two walked away.

Aerrow walked in the middle of two tents and a man suddenly talked to him from the tent by his left.

"Hey, you're a guy that loves daggers, huh? I bet you'll like this thrown knives kit here." - he showed a box with 7 thrown knives.

The sky knight blinked and moved his torso backwards a bit.

"Nah, don't listen to that guy. What you need's a shield to complement one of those swords of yours." - another man from the tent by Aerrow's right pulled out a huge shield and slammed it on the ground in front of the boy.

Aerrow backed up two steps surprised that the man didn't crush his feet with that shield.

"Nonsense, you two know nothing about warriors. This boy's a knight, look at him!" - another man appeared and walked towards him - "Here, this lance is what you really want." - the man showed possibly the longest and sharpest lance the red haired boy had ever seen in his life.

"If you buy my shield, I'll throw in this morning star for free!" - the second man said, nearly shoving the mace in Aerrow's face.

"No, no! Buy my thrown knives kit! I'll let you take some kunai and shurikens with you as well! Wait, even better, you can also take this katana here! I know you're a fan of blades!" - the first man showed the ninja thrown weapons and the sword.

"Boy, if you buy this lance, I'll let you have this poleaxe, this spear and this scythe!" - the third man showed the other three polearms in his hand.

Aerrow felt quite intimidated, he never thought he'd be overwhelmed by some weapon vendors that were pretty much begging him to buy their goods. He just kept backing away from the arguing vendors slowly.

"Please, young lady." - a woman spoke to Piper - "Are you interested in some jewelry?" - she offered a very beautiful necklace with glimmering crystals all over it - "This necklace of yours looks a bit old and worn out, why don't you replace it with a brand new one?"

The sky knight was far from there but he still could listen to what the woman said. Old? Worn out? Those words made him a bit upset. He rubbed his arm with one hand while staring at the ground.

"Thank you for the offer... But I can't throw this necklace away." - Piper said while stroking the crystal on her neck - "It's really important to me."

Hearing her say that actually made him smile. He was glad its value didn't fade away. But he was suddenly interrupted by three crazy merchants shouting for him to buy something.

"Alright, alright! I'll take them all." - he said, making them all blink.

"Really?" - they asked in unison.

"You've made a great deal, boy!" - the first merchant said, handing him the weapons.

The other two gave him the goods as well. All those weapons were pilled up in his arms. Well, that was a lot to carry... He could barely move.

"This crystal, what is it?" - an old man approached Piper, who was still in front of the jewelry tent - "I can feel a lot of energy coming from it."

"Oh, that's no longer possible, this crystal shard stopped working many months ago." - the girl said.

"It's not the raw crystal energy I'm talking about. I feel strong energy from that crystal. That crystal has the memories of loved people you lost." - the man told her and he was spot on, Piper stroke the crystal gently as she heard him talk - "And it also has the energy of someone deeply connected to you, am I correct?"

She followed the man's stare and noticed they were looking at Aerrow.

"I guess so." - she said, while she looked at the sky knight with a worried expression.

She couldn't help but think about those thoughts that came to her earlier. She kept hoping their work wouldn't be for nothing.

"He has a very strong opinion about the people here, but he'll learn their value." - the man said.

She saw Aerrow getting lots of weapons from some merchants. They were so heavy that he ended up falling to the ground and dropping all of them on the floor. Then he gathered them and stood up again, using all his strength to carry the weapons. She just blinked at that, then shook her head smiling. Well, at least he was in a good enough mood for shopping. Maybe the man had a point as well.

"Sir, how did you know from my necklace that I had a connection? Can you see auras?" - she asked.

"I can't see auras per se, but I can feel the essences left in crystals and I can identify who the essence belongs to. You two have compatible essences, that's why I could guess your connection." - the old man explained - "I wonder, though, have you attempted to unlock the 4 bridges?"

"Yes, we have! In fact, we mastered the link of the mind recently and went after the Grandmaster to learn the location of the other trainers." - she told him.

"Ah, I understand. Then you're in great hands. With the Grandmaster's help, the training will be much more easygoing, you'll see. Though it'll still be really tough." - he said - "She gives great advice and knows the best methods to teach someone something so hard to achieve like that."

Piper smiled, those were good news! Maybe they'd cheer Aerrow up a bit. And that was exactly what was about to happen.

"Glad... To hear... That..." - Aerrow said while trying to breathe as he approached them, the rest of the group coming near as well.

Boy, were those weapons heavy! If he messed up one single time, he'd drop all the pile on the floor and he really didn't want to have to gather and pile them up in his arms all over again. At least, he had a smile on his face, he was in a much better mood.

"Junko, could you help Aerrow over there, please?" - Kaya said, pointing to a panting Aerrow.

"Sure, let me carry them." - the wallop said as he easily grabbed all the weapons with one hand and held them under his arm.

"Thanks, Junko." - the sky knight said as he rubbed his aching back.

"Are you guys done shopping?" - Jake asked - "We should head to Freedom Tower now, there'll be a meeting with the leaders of all the factions in the whole Liberty Reign there soon."

They began walking towards the big tower in the middle of the city.

"It's incredible how friendly those people at the marketplace were." - Finn commented.

"Yeah, we might not look like it, but the people from Liberty Reign are really good merchants. We love trading goods. Too bad most people have a prejudice against us, thinking we'd steal from them either through overpricing or by snatching their stuff while they're distracted." - the pirate said - "But we'd not do that, we just wanna trade."

Well, that was certainly impressive. Maybe they shouldn't have judged those people badly before actually meeting them. It seems that thieves can be nice and friendly, and even more surprising, fair. Their goods were sold at a really fair price!

"I noticed some prices were way too low. I'd not be surprised if people feared the goods were broken or defective." - Stork said.

"You're right. But the truth is: those goods are actually of really fine quality. We're selling stuff at that low a price because we have little to no customers, so our stuff's accumulating and we gotta get rid of them, otherwise, we'd throw them away and that'd be a waste." - the captain explained.

That'd explain why they were so happy when someone bought something, that they'd even throw in more goods for free. They realized misjudging those people was causing them a lot of trouble. They felt sorry, but could they blame the rest of the world for mistrusting them? The thieves, pirates and assassins did have their reputations...

As they kept walking, Piper approached Jake, she had a question of her own.

"So this Freedom Tower is like a council meeting place, right?" - Piper asked - "Is it that tower?" - she pointed to a huge tower that stood out from everything else, with a large room in the top filled with very big windows.

"Yep, that's it." - the captain replied.

"Isn't that way too exposed for all the leaders to meet there? I mean, since you're mostly sneaky people, I was expecting we'd go to a hideout underground." - she said.

"Yeah, I can see why'd you say that. But don't worry, that room has a special spell on it, so it appears that the place's empty, because the windows cloak everything that's inside the tower." - he explained - "Besides, like you said, it'd be expected that we'd meet underground, so if one of those servants of this bossy girl you're after came looking for us, the first place they'd search would be the underground, right? Who'd even guess we're actually meeting in plain sight?" - he told her - "And our underground is huge, even if they were to go look in the Freedom Tower right after searching the whole underground, they'd still take a long time avoiding traps, ambushes and figuring out our mazes. And by the time they got to the tower, we'd already have been aware of their presence here, and we'd probably have left for a safer place."

"You have a really good point." - Piper grinned as she pictured his explanation in her mind - "You guys thought of everything beforehand, huh?"

Those thieves were really clever! That made a lot of sense.

"We try." - Jake said simply - "Well, here we are." - he gestured to the tower in front of them.

The building was huge, it reached really high in the sky, the walls were made of very thick bricks. There were no windows, except for the room in the top of the tower.

They all went inside. The place was quite dark, some crystals illuminated the stairs. The group was about to climb the stairs, when the pirate stopped them.

"Wait, wait, don't go climbing yet, let me disarm the traps first." - he put his arm in front of Piper, Kaya and Radarr, who were the nearest ones to him.

He touched a stone panel on the wall, then a bunch of blades moved in the step right in front of Finn, who was way too close to them for his comfort, so he walked a step backwards nearly screaming. Everyone heard several noises of the traps moving and deactivating, the noises became faint as the traps from far away in the top were being disabled.

"Okay, stay close, because whenever we walk by a trap, it'll activate again behind us. This is so we can prevent stalkers from following us." - he told them - "I suggest we run, since we're a big group. Let's go."

He began climbing the stairs and everyone followed him close behind. The traps activated and triggered behind them. Blades attempted to slash anything, walls fell down and almost crushed them, poisoned daggers were thrown from holes in the walls, spikes came out from the ground, holes opened behind them... Finn, Junko and Stork screamed all the way to the top, Radarr stuck to Aerrow's leg like glue, almost causing him to trip on the ground a few times, hadn't the wallop helped him up, Kaya decided to fly in her bird form instead of running, and Piper managed to follow Jake without any problems so far.

"We made it. Not bad, huh?" - Jake said as they got to the top.

Everyone else, except for Kaya, was trying to catch their breath back. What a marathon! Then they heard something and looked at the wall. Two doors opened, revealing some people coming out of an elevator. Oh, so there was an elevator after all... Wouldn't it have been awesome if they knew about it? All the guys glared at Jake, while Piper and Kaya exchanged unimpressed glances. That running around the stairs was completely pointless!

"Why didn't you just take us through the elevator?!" - Finn demanded.

The blonde was quite upset. He was panting a lot, he was definitely going to need a shower after that, and all to find out there was an easier way to get to the top!

"You see, you'd have to drink a certain elixir that'd take one week to take effect before entering that elevator. Otherwise, things would be pretty grim." - he explained - "That's no normal elevator."

"Wait, is that the warp elevator? I've heard about it." - Kaya said - "It's a teleporting elevator, but not anyone can go through it. If a person doesn't drink the safe trip elixir one week before, when they try to teleport, their body will be ripped apart. That's so no one can easily invade the tower."

The sharpshooter immediately gasped, regretting even asking to go to that elevator.

"Yeah. You guys don't have a week, so we had to go the harder way." - Jake said.

"That's okay. We're all in one piece, and everyone is coming to the reunion, that's all that matters." - Piper spoke.

They observed as many people entered a room, sitting on chairs around a very large table. Inside the room was also a small round stage near the table, where a person could stand on to speak to everyone in the room. They walked towards the entrance. Stork saw Finn rubbing his sore legs.

"You can take the faster way back if you don't wanna climb down the stairs again, Finn." - the merb said.

"Oh, ah... Well, exercising is good, so I'll pass..." - the blonde said nervously.

No, thanks, his body was perfectly fine the way it was! They saw the room filled with lots of people. Well, they had arranged everything quite quickly, that was great. It seems those people were taking things seriously, but it still wasn't certain if they could be trusted.

"Let's get this over with." - Aerrow said as he stepped inside the room. He could only hope things would go right.

 


	16. Episode 56 - Part 3

**Episode 56 - True Leaders**

**Part 3 - Another One Bites the Dust**

All the leaders of every faction in the reign had gathered around the big rectangular table. Aerrow sat at one end of the table, with Finn and Stork in front of him by his left and right, respectively, then Junko by Finn's side, Piper by Stork's and Kaya by Piper's, with Radarr on her lap. Jake, who sat near Junko, stood up to talk.

"Thanks everyone for coming. These guys here are the Storm Hawks. They came from OUTside to give us an important message." - the pirate introduced them, then he sat down.

"Out outside?" - a thief that was by his side asked, to which the captain nodded - "Then, please, accept this little gift here! For you too, Grandmaster." - the man pulled out two golden rings, offering them to Piper and Kaya.

But another man by Kaya's side snatched the jewels from the thief's hand.

"You mean, MY gift for them." - he offered them to the girls.

"You cheap scum, I stole them first!" - the first man yelled.

"But who steals last wins, you know that." - the other man replied.

The two began arguing, then stood up and struggled against each other, the second man managed to throw the other against the table and pin him down on top of it, but the first man moved his torso forward, pulling the second one along and throwing him on the ground on the other side of the table. Kaya and Piper just moved their torsos away, so they'd not end up being hit by one of them in that fight.

Other male leaders present also argued about giving gifts to the two girls, while the female leaders discussed about how good looking were the boys, so the whole room became a mess. Finn noticed the women talking about him and a wide grin appeared in his face. He was so going to try to score something in there that day! Aerrow also noticed them talking and felt like hiding. It was like he was in some kind of beauty contest. That was just awkward and uncalled for.

"What's up with them?" - Junko leaned towards Jake and whispered.

"Well, the men in this reign are quite known for wanting to impress the girls. It's kinda part of who we are. And the women are also like that, though they're more of the laying down the charm type." - the pirate explained - "The men do that a lot to outsiders, but since you're from even more outside, and the Grandmaster's here, the two girls will be showered with presents until the end of the day. And you guys might hook up with someone too, who knows?"

"I know I certainly will." - Finn said while winking at one of the female leaders, who giggled naughtily.

Stork stared at him unimpressed. Was he really going to try to date a random outlaw he had just seen? Then he noticed the women staring at him, and that creeped him out, so he bent his torso down and shoved his head under the table to hide.

"Okay, listen all of you." - Aerrow stood up, drawing everyone's attention - "We came from the Atmos to ask you to join us as an army."

"You're too young to be so serious. Why don't you come have some fun with us? We'll put a smile on that face of yours." - one of the women said to him as she winked at Finn.

The blonde smiled even more, but his smile faded when Aerrow spoke again.

"We didn't come here to have fun! We're at war and we need your help!" - he told them.

"War against who? I haven't noticed anything out of ordinary." - a man said.

"Master Cyclonis, she ruled the Cyclonian empire until we defeated her and destroyed her terra. But she fled here, so we came to arrest her." - he explained.

"Hm... What does she look like? Maybe one of our spies could've spotted her already." - another man asked.

"Uh... Well, she's..." - Aerrow began, he rubbed his hand behind his head.

It felt really weird to have to think of all the details of his worst enemy's face to give a proper description, that was a bit uneasy. But he didn't have to think about that for too long, Kaya had brought a solution.

"Don't worry, I got that covered." - the girl told him - "I had asked Piper to describe her already, so I could make this hologram crystal with her avatar. This way, if you ever had to explain what she looked like, you could use this." - she placed the crystal on top of the table and a life size hologram of Cyclonis appeared.

"Wow, that's... Really useful. Thanks." - he whispered to her, then turned to the leaders - "She's trying to conquer the world again, and this time she'll be much more dangerous, so she can't have her way." - he told them.

Everyone observed then blinked with weird expressions in their faces.

"How old is she? 14?" - a man asked a bit skeptical.

"Actually, yes, she's our age." - Piper said.

"Then this is all some kind of relationship fight?" - a woman asked.

"What?" - Aerrow didn't get that.

"She's the girlfriend of one of you and she's mad, right? That'd explain her wanting to crush you all under her heel. With such lady killer guys like you, I'd be worried myself." - she said.

The sky knight blinked in disbelief. What was she talking about?! That certainly did NOT explain any reason whatsoever to do what Cyclonis was doing!

"No! Of course not! This war between Cyclonia and the Atmos exists for centuries already! This has nothing to do with that at all." - the Storm Hawk denied her claim.

"Oh, now I know the story." - she smiled sheepishly - "I mean, since you're all so young, I couldn't think of any reason why a girl her age'd go crazy trying to rule the world other than seeking attention, especially from a boyfriend that hurt her or something. But now I see, she's continuing the war an ancestor of hers began."

Piper felt a bit offended by that, after all, she was a 14 year old girl herself. She'd never act like that, it was so immature! That was not what girls her age were about... Well, at least, not what she was about anyway... She felt Kaya placing a hand on her shoulder, then looked at her.

"Don't mind that, Piper." - the black haired girl said softly, reassuring her - "You're way above that."

The crystal mage smiled, it felt great to be appreciated and recognized.

"Yes, and with access to greater technology from here, she's an even bigger threat than before." - Aerrow continued - "We have no idea of what she's able to do, but there's one thing we know: she's after the Reignition Stones so she can get the Helix Crystal back."

"What? She's insane, right? That crystal destroyed the world. What good could ruling a destroyed world do to her? That's a lose-lose situation alright." - a man said.

"That's Cyclonis for you..." - Finn commented - "I always knew she was crazy. That girl's a sea of trouble."

"Then why did you hit on her?" - Piper asked him teasingly about Lark.

"First, I didn't, I hit on her disguise, that's different. Second, none of us knew it was her, not even you." - the blonde defended himself as he crossed his arms annoyed.

Radarr made a noise in disagreement. He knew there was something wrong with 'Lark' all along, but the others didn't pay attention to him until he was found cloaked! Well, now they should know better... The crystal mage just rolled her eyes amused. Kaya couldn't help but giggle. Messing with Finn was one of the funniest things ever! She now waited eagerly for her turn to do that. Aerrow looked at them a bit unimpressed. Way to go out of topic, guys...

"Well, are you with us?" - he asked, going back to the subject that mattered.

All of them exchanged glances, then nodded.

"Of course! The enemy of our enemy's our friend!" - a man said - "You tell us your plan and we'll follow you into battle, or sneaky invasion, whatever you prefer."

"Do I have your word, then?" - the sky knight insisted - "I have to be sure I can trust you."

"Don't worry, we're bound the moment we swear we'll offer you our services until you accomplish your goal. As long as it won't break our rules." - the man explained.

"And what are the rules?" - the boy inquired.

"You can't get us arrested, you have to trust we'll do your request, since we're bound until the end, and, depending on the job, you can't ever reveal our identity or any other information about us that can compromise us in any way." - he counted the rules on his fingers.

"I believe that's fair." - Piper commented.

Indeed, they weren't really asking too much. And they were taking their recruitment seriously. They were really going through with that. Aerrow nodded in agreement at last.

"We'll prepare everything until you summon us to do the service." - a woman said.

"Then it's settled. Thank you, gentlemen, ladies." - Jake stood up and gestured to the people in the room - "Now let's get down to business."

All of the leaders stood up, saluted and left. Piper was quite impressed, they had a lot of class for a bunch of thieves, pirates and assassins.

"You're all very polite." - she said as the group left the room.

"Yeah, even though we do get our hands dirty, we're civilized and have mutual respect." - the pirate told her while they walked by the stairs - "The way back's better, the traps won't activate until we get to the bottom, then they trigger and rearm at once, so we can take our time."

They calmly climbed down the stairway, then left the tower.

"So, now that we have some free time, how about the stroll on your ship?" - Kaya suggested.

"You just read my mind, I was gonna ask if you'd come." - Jake said.

"We should head out to the next reign n-" - Aerrow spoke.

"Sure, of course we will." - the Grandmaster interrupted him - "Take us to your ship."

"Great! Follow me, then." - the pirate said and walked ahead.

The sky knight stared in disbelief at the girl, but then he saw her gesturing for him to come closer, so she could talk, and he realized she had a motive to do that.

"I think it's a good idea to go for this quick ride, Aerrow." - she whispered to him.

"But why? We really shouldn't be wasting time." - he said - "The sooner we warn all the reigns the better. We can't afford a stroll while we're at war."

"I know why you're really hesitating." - she told him as she smiled knowingly, which made him feel quite exposed - "Trust me, we won't be wasting our time. You're gonna learn a lot in this little trip, just wait and see." - she put a hand on his arm, since she couldn't reach his shoulder.

"If you say so..." - he sighed.

Yeah, she had guessed his reasons accurately, that ability to see the auras was certainly great. She didn't even have to know him for too long to be able to read him like a book. He wondered how many people in the Far Side had the capability to do that as well. It felt uneasy to be that transparent to everyone... Not that there was anything wrong with being honest, but sometimes he'd rather keep certain things to himself.

* * *

They arrived at the docks, where Jake's crew waited.

"The ship's ready to take off, captain." - Dahia said.

"We'll take them for a stroll today and we'll have a new pilot for the trip." - he gestured to Stork as all walked aboard the ship - "No worries, he's a pro, right buddy?" - he patted him on the shoulder.

"Well, I'm a seasoned carrier pilot and I know how to pilot any ship in the Atmos, but..." - the merb spoke.

"Excellent, you'll be perfectly fine, then." - the pirate interrupted him and gave him a light shove towards the helm - "Go ahead, she's yours for today."

The green skinned pilot stared at it. That was certainly the most strange helm he had ever seen. It was very different from the ones in the ships he flew. It reminded him of the helm in Tritonn's ship, but it was completely round, instead of two sections on the sides. And that was it, there was only the steering wheel, no breaks, no accelerators, no levers, no other kinds of controls, nothing.

"Ah... I'm not sure how to move this ship." - he said to the captain beside him.

"Just tell my crew to do their tasks. This ship's meant to be sailed in group, and the pilot gives the orders, that's why the captain is the one who pilots the ship." - Jake told him - "We generally go as fast as the wind, we use our sails, so tell my crew to lower them. Then enjoy the ride."

"Hm... Okay, ah... Lower the sails!" - the merb shouted.

"Aye, aye!" - Dahia saluted and she and the others proceeded to climb the masts to untie some ropes that held the sails on the top.

The wind blew strongly, so the ship set sail in the skies smoothly.

"So, how did you like her?" - the pirate asked the merb.

"She's indeed a great ship, but my heart and soul will always be with the Condor." - he said.

"I know what you mean... When you find the perfect ship, you'll never let go of it." - the man commented as he stroke the railing in front of the helm, which made Stork nod in agreement.

Junko was standing nearby observing.

"How does the ship stay afloat?" - he asked curiously - "The wind isn't that strong and you don't have any kind of thruster or turbine. I can't believe we're flying." - he remarked.

"It's because we don't fly per se, we sail the skies." - Jake said - "The air in here has some kind of mist that makes it denser than normal. I believe you probably noticed the air feels heavier."

"Yeah, it's a little harder to breathe." - the wallop confirmed.

"And that's what allows us to sail in the sky as if there was water in here." - the pirate explained.

"Oh... That's cool!" - the flight engineer said excitedly.

Finn walked by them with a surf board.

"Well, since the air is like water, I might as well take the chance to go surfing!" - he spoke, then he turned to the ship's side and ran for it.

"Wait, don't!" - the captain shouted while reaching an arm out.

But it was too late, the sharpshooter jumped as soon as he reached the edge of the ship. Jake immediately grabbed a rope and tied it to a handle nearby, then jumped after him. Finn hit the air then went through the dense layer and came out in the normal layer of air, so he went into a free fall. He screamed scared, but the pirate came swinging the rope and caught him, then both were led back to the ship by their momentum. The blonde bent his knees a bit and supported his back by putting his hands on them, breathing heavily.

"What happened?" - he asked.

"The layer of dense air is very thin, we can't really go for a swim, because if we jump on the air, we'll fall through the dense layer and into the normal air." - Jake explained.

"But what about the ship? Why won't it fall through as well?" - the boy asked.

"Besides the air blowing the sails helping us, we carefully built our ship on top of the dense layer to keep the surface tension." - the man told him.

"The what?" - he raised an eyebrow.

"Surface tension. The surface of the air can resist an external force and keep denser objects afloat." - Piper explained, but Finn just stared blankly at her, obviously not understanding a single word she had just said, which made her sigh - "The surface works like a net preventing things from falling through."

"Oh, that's nice. But if the surface is a net, why did I fall?" - he questioned.

"It's not like any net, it's very unstable." - she said - "I think the sails make the ship much lighter, and since it has a big enough area in contact with the surface, it won't pierce through it."

"That's exactly it." - Kennit walked near them - "It requires a genius to design ships to sail the skies." - he pointed to himself - "The Manta here's my pride and joy work." - he patted the ship.

Well, he had no false modesty alright... But something else about what he spoke drew her attention.

"The Manta?" - she was curious about the name.

"From manta ray. It's because this ship sails as smoothly as a manta ray dancing in the skies." - the master carpenter said.

That was a nice comparison, quite... Poetic.

"It certainly suits the ship." - she commented, and the skinny man smiled broadly.

"Yeah, but this is so boring, I thought I was gonna surf but I can't." - Finn complained.

Piper stared at him annoyed. Why did he have to be so childish?!

"Tell you what, why don't we have that match of marksmanship now? If you show you're very skilled, I'll let you borrow one of our sailboards." - the captain walked towards a thin door, then opened it and pulled a surfboard with a sail from there - "You might not be able to surf for real in these skies, but you can windsurf! And that's just as fun." - the man offered his hand.

Finn's eyes glimmered at the sailboard. That was so awesome!

"You have a deal!" - he eagerly grabbed Jake's hand and shook it.

* * *

Finn and Jake stood side by side on the tip of the ship, each one holding their weapons: the crossbow and one of the pistols.

"Skade, launch the targets!" - the captain shouted to the woman that was on the top of a mast.

"Alright! Get ready!" - she shouted back as she pulled a lever.

Several disks with red and white rings painted on them flew around in front of the ship. The blonde and the black man shot at them with incredible accuracy, always hitting the very center of the targets.

"Huh, that's child's play." - the sharpshooter commented.

"We're just warming up." - the pirate said - "Begin phase two!"

"Aye, aye, captain." - Russell pulled another lever near the back of the ship.

Twice more targets flew in the air three times faster. Still, both matched each other in speed and accuracy.

"Heh, you're very sharp, but let's see how you'll deal with this." - the man commented - "Begin the final phase!"

"On it!" - Dahia shouted as she aimed with her cannon.

Finn noticed it, so he turned to Jake.

"What's she up to?" - he asked.

"This phase works like this: we have to hit all the targets before Dahia's bombs destroy them all, and she's really good at exploding things with that cannon of hers." - the man explained.

The woman shot a large cannon ball in the middle of the sea of targets. It exploded and sent several flaming fragments everywhere, striking and destroying a wide area of that sea.

"See? She'll do just like that." - he said.

"Get ready you two!" - she shouted - "I'm gonna shoot now!"

The two began shooting at the targets as fast as they could. Jake had already gone through that training, so he knew a few things that helped make things easier, like shooting at the fragments so they'd not hit the targets. Finn observed him and did the same. So far it was going to end in a draw, until the sharpshooter did something amazing: he shot straight at a cannon ball that was about to explode, cutting it in half and preventing the explosion from triggering, then right after, several arrows shot in quick succession hit all the targets in the area of the explosion. Both Dahia and Jake blinked at that.

"I can't believe it, he got me!" - she said.

"You're good, I had never thought of that one!" - Jake admitted.

Kaya nodded approvingly and flashed a satisfied smile at Finn. Her training served him well. He was much more skilled than before. And he started thinking outside the box, so that was going to give him an edge in battle.

"Guess you deserve a little prize for your effort after all, Finn." - she said.

Giving rewards for a good work was great to motivate the pupils to keep on getting better, that was a good time to give him some positive feedback from the master.

"There you go." - Jake pulled the sailboard closer to Finn - "Just don't jump out from the surfboard, you know what happens."

"Got it." - the blonde said.

He ran with the sailboard and jumped from the ship, quickly climbing on the surfboard. Both fell slowly and hit the dense air like it was water, but they didn't sink. The wind blew on the sail and launched them forward. The boy shouted a "woohoo!" as he sailed the sky. The dense air acted like real water, so there were some "waves" he could do tricks on, and he didn't waste his chance. He actually managed to do all the tricks smoothly, the fact that it was a sailboard made it easier to pull off the tricks. Junko cheered for his friend and waved. Piper, Kaya and Radarr watched quite amused.

"Hey, do you wanna windsurf too?" - Dahia asked as she approached them.

Kaya and Radarr exchanged glances and smiled.

"Sure! That sounds like fun!" - the Grandmaster said.

Both her and Radarr ran towards a sailboard that had been prepared by the gunner. The short gunner went after them to give them some instructions, then she noticed Piper was still standing in the same place.

"Won't you come?" - she asked.

"Ah... I don't know... I'm not that good at surfing." - the crystal mage wasn't sure.

"Don't worry, I can sail with you." - Skade appeared and grabbed her wrist - "You just can't miss out on this." - she dragged her along to another sailboard.

The woman and the girl climbed on the surfboard that had its front half hanging, ready to "take off" from the ship.

"Just hold onto me, but let me tie these ropes too, so if you ever slip, I can pull you back." - the pirate navigator said as she tied one end of the rope around Piper, then the other around herself - "There. Now let's go!"

The two jumped from the ship, the blue haired girl screaming while the woman shouted thrilled. But Piper's fear soon turned into joy as the wind blew on the sail, making the sailboard glide until it hit the dense layer of air. The woman sailed smoothly, without doing tricks and such, so she'd not scare the girl.

"See? It's not so bad!" - Skade smiled at her.

"Yeah, it's actually really fun!" - Piper commented.

They saw Kaya and Radarr windsurfing near them. The small girl made the sailboard spin in the air then land again on the dense layer. The animal was holding her tightly. That felt like those thrilling flights with Aerrow, but at least Kaya was responsible. The crazy sky knight was completely reckless in that aspect. The countless times the co-pilot felt sick when flying with him...

"Hehe, the Grandmaster's quite a natural at that." - Dahia commented as she approached her crewmate and Piper.

"Indeed, she's great." - Skade agreed.

On board the ship, Junko really felt like going to have some fun too.

"Why are they so tiny?" - he lamented. The sailboards were too small for him.

"If you wanna join them, you can use mine." - Russell showed him a bigger sailboard, which would be able to withstand his weight just fine.

"Wow, thank you." - the wallop said - "The sail is very pretty too."

"Thanks, I made it myself." - the man said proudly about his skills in making sails.

The flight engineer joined the others windsurfing. All of them seemed to be enjoying themselves and the company of the pirates, something Aerrow noticed. He got a bit angry at that. He just watched them quietly. Jake approached Aerrow.

"Why don't you go have some fun? You can use my sailboard." - he showed him the captain's sailboard, which was slightly different from the other ones, it had a sail with a different shape - "I thought you'd like speed, this model here's for fast windsurfing."

"I'll pass, thanks." - Aerrow said bluntly.

He saw Piper climb aboard the ship from the corner of his eye, along with the two women from Jake's crew, Kaya and Radarr. The pirate decided to invite him once more.

"C'mon, your friends are waiting for you." - he insisted - "I know you wanna try this out."

At that Aerrow snapped. He knew?!

"No, you don't know. I said I'd pass." - the sky knight glared at him - "We're just wasting time here, when we're supposed to be progressing with our mission! Take us back, we should get going already."

But he saw his friends looking at him with upset expressions. So they disagreed with him?

"I guess your crew wants to stay a little more." - Jake stated, which made him even angrier, to the point where he clenched his hands into fists - "Chill out, enjoy the ride."

"You're stalling us!" - Aerrow pointed at him accusingly - "This was to be a quick trip around the reign and back, but you took us further away."

"I just wanted to give you a chance to relax. You seemed too stressed." - the pirate crossed his arms calmly.

"I'm not stressed, you're the one who doesn't take anything seriously." - the boy retorted.

"Okay, okay, I get it." - the man said - "Let's settle this with a duel, then. If I win, we'll continue the trip normally, if you win, we'll take you back right away."

That sounded good enough.

"Fine. I accept." - Aerrow said as he pulled his swords out.

Jake did the same, and both circled each other.

"Great, let's start with something big." - the pirate said.

He jumped in the air channeling the energy of the crystals in his weapons. So he could execute a special move too, huh?

"Okay, you asked for it." - the sky knight said.

Aerrow jumped and channeled the crystal energy as well. Jake slashed with both weapons in front of him, unleashing a shockwave in the form of an X. Aerrow brought his weapons together, transforming the angelic wings into a bolt of energy. The bolt passed through the shockwave, canceling it out, and traveled straight to the pirate, who had to parry to protect himself. The force threw him at the wall of his cabin.

"Woah, that was a sweet move." - the man quite impressed - "What's it called?"

"Quit talking and start fighting already." - the boy leaped to strike, but the captain dodged at the last moment.

They fought very well, attacking, parrying and dodging. Finn and Junko had just finished climbing aboard the ship when they saw the two battling.

"So, what's up with them?" - the blonde asked.

"They're dueling to decide whether we'll go back or continue the trip." - Piper explained with a disappointed voice.

She definitely found that behavior very immature on their part. That fight was completely unnecessary.

The two were pretty much a match, until Jake took advantage of one mistake Aerrow committed. The sky knight stroke with the blade in his right hand, and the pirate cross parried. He waited for an attack, but it never came, so he blinked confused, then took the opportunity to push Aerrow's sword away from himself. Then he attacked, which made the boy cross parry as well, but instead of stopping at that, he came with another attack from his free hand. He moved the sword near Aerrow's face and shot a bolt of energy from it. The red haired leader was thrown a few feet away from the man and landed on his back disarmed. Jake took the chance to aim his sword at Aerrow's chest. The pirate was the winner.

"Aerrow lost?" - Junko was surprised.

Jake offered his hand to help Aerrow up, but the boy just stared at it, then shook his head, stood up on his own and walked away from him to collect his blades from the ground.

"Do you know why you lost?" - the captain began, and the boy knew what he was going to say, since he was well aware of that already - "Because you have two swords, but you're afraid of using them both and hurting your opponent too badly." - he said as he watched the boy pull one sword from the floor - "But you gotta remember that if your enemies get the chance to kill you, they'll do it with no remorse." - then he turned to his crewmates - "Well, let's keep on sailing these skies."

The man climbed a rope and jumped on the upper floor to look at the view. Aerrow kneeled down to grab his other sword that was stuck on the ground. He knew all that, because Kaya had already warned him of that flaw. And he had thought out new fighting strategies and styles that would fully use his weapons' potential. But for some reason he just couldn't bring himself to do it during that duel.

"He's right, you know? You're too soft sometimes." - Stork said from the helm.

"What, were you rooting for him?" - the sky knight asked sarcastically, but upon receiving no answer, only surprised looks from his friends he became even more upset and annoyed - "You all were, weren't you?"

"We weren't rooting for anybody." - Piper said - "That fight was totally uncalled for. That was very immature from both of you."

"Me immature?! I'm the only one currently taking our mission seriously. All you guys are interested in right now is spending time with these pirates." - he said to her.

"Well, after getting to know them better, they're not nearly as bad as you might think. They're actually really nice people." - Junko voiced his opinion.

"Fine then, let this trip go on until your heart's content." - the boy said as he walked away.

"Where are you going?" - Finn asked.

"I'll be on the lower deck. Call me when we get back to the docks." - he replied, then opened a door and climbed down some stairs, closing the door behind him.

The others just looked at the door with sad and confused expressions. Radarr whimpered, and Kaya put a hand on his back.

"Don't worry, Radarr. He'll be fine. He'll get over that today." - she assured him.

He chirped confused, and Piper also looked at Kaya with questioning eyes.

"What do you mean?" - the crystal mage asked.

"Well, there's a reason I convinced Aerrow to come along: he needed this trip more than ever." - she explained.

Both the navigator and the co-pilot exchanged glances. They could guess what the Grandmaster had in mind.

 


	17. Episode 56 - Part 4

 

 

 

**Episode 56 - True Leaders**

**Part 4 - A New Friendship**

Aerrow was lying on a hammock with his arms crossed behind his head in a dark room. He stared at the ceiling in thought. He was still angry, but he had agreed on dueling, and Jake had beaten him fair and square, so he couldn't object. Maybe he was indeed too soft... Or maybe that's what he was supposed to have done anyways... He just didn't know what to make of what had happened anymore.

"I know what you're thinking about." - Kaya said as she climbed down two steps of the stairs, which made him look at her - "It's true that you'd probably have wiped the floor with Jake if you had gone all out on that duel, but I'm glad you decided against it. I was actually proud of you. I know you held back because you were thinking about your crew's wish of continuing the trip. You put their will above your own. That was very nice of you."

"Yeah, I guess so..." - he looked back at the ceiling as she rested her back against the wall.

A quiet moment passed, then the Grandmaster spoke again.

"You're afraid, aren't you?" - she asked.

"Afraid? Of what?" - he didn't move his eyes from the ceiling.

"Not being good enough as a leader." - she said - "You fear Jake will show he's better at that than you are, just because he seems so captivating. Like a certain someone who got you in prison before..." - she was very spot on, as always - "But you're wrong. There's a reason I wanted you to come to this trip. I believe Jake will reveal something in you that you yourself hadn't noticed was there." - she walked towards his hammock.

"That self-centered pirate's gonna reveal something in me... Sure..." - he said sarcastically - "He's really just one step away from being another Carver."

The very thought of another Carver sent chills down his spine. He had to admit he was still somewhat traumatized after having had his squadron manipulated to turn on him, even if they were not fully aware of it. Aerrow noticed those events had gotten to him worse than he thought. He had started doubting himself, and had also lost a little bit of trust on his squadmates, in a leader-team kinda way. It actually hurt to admit that, after all, they were his friends and they thought they were helping, it wasn't their fault they were fooled by that guy's charm and sweet talk. But that worried him now again. Jake was just as much of a charmer and sweet talker... And he was managing to take the rest of the squad away from him, little by little. Was he going to lose them all again? He just couldn't bear going through that another time...

"C'mon, Aerrow. Give him a chance, pretty please with sugar on top!" - she pleaded as she placed her hands on the hammock and stared at him, causing him to snap out of that depressing train of thoughts.

He looked at her and saw those pleading puppy-like eyes blinking at him expectantly. Well, it was completely impossible to say "no" to that.

"Okay, okay. I'll give him a chance." - he finally said calmly.

"Thank you! You won't regret it!" - she said as she clapped her hands, then clasped them together.

"But don't do the puppy eye trick again, okay? You can't make me say 'yes' for everything forever." - he told her jokingly as he stood up and walked towards the door.

"Alright, I'll promise." - she said, but she crossed her fingers behind her back as he opened the door to leave the deck - "Sorry, Aerrow, but I can't promise that yet. Who knows if I'll have to exploit that little weakness of yours again." - she said to herself as she giggled.

The sky knight left the lower deck and stood in front of the door alone. He observed everyone. Piper and Skade talked about their tasks and how the crew needed them. Finn and Dahia were near the cannons, the sharpshooter was checking them out and was quite impressed by the ammo. Junko and Russell were making sails as Radarr watched them. The sailmaker was teaching the wallop his tricks, and the big guy made a nice sail with the Storm Hawks symbol on it, to which the co-pilot chirped happily, giving him thumbs up and complimenting his work. Stork and Kennit were discussing about the ships and modifications while the merb piloted. Jake just stood alone near the front tip of the ship. The wind blowing on his red coat did make him look like a mighty captain, alright. The boy had to admit the pirate had a lot of presence.

He walked towards him, thinking about what to say. But as soon as he approached, the man noticed him.

"Hey, Aerrow. Tired of the lower deck, huh? Here, come take a look at this nice view." - Jake invited him to share the upper deck with him - "Amazing, isn't it?"

"Yeah." - Aerrow agreed.

The two stood there silently, just taking in the landscape. The wind blew softly, moving Aerrow's hair around. Jake's coat moved like a wave as well.

"You know, I didn't mean to compete with you in that duel. I just saw your friends wanted to stay a while, so I thought..." - the pirate began.

"It's okay. I felt that winning was the wrong thing to do, so I couldn't bring myself to fight for real. I just... I guess I didn't want to admit you were right there." - the boy said.

"Heh, don't worry, no harm done. Well, I'm about to take you guys back, we'll start going around the reign now. So why don't you enjoy the trip back?" - the man suggested, and Aerrow nodded.

But then, the boy saw something that caught his attention, so he squinted his eyes to see better.

"Is that...?" - he asked as Jake followed his gaze.

"Oh, no... It's a mega tornado." - the captain said.

Both stared at the huge tornado approaching, it was going to collide with the ship in a point a bit ahead of their trajectory. Jake jumped from the upper deck to warn his crew.

"Tie the sails! Convert to thruster mode!" - he shouted his orders - "Skade, lead them to the lower deck then gather all the crew in there."

"But what about you?" - she asked.

"I'll pilot us out of here." - he said as he ran towards the helm to take Stork's place.

Russell and Gorgon pulled ropes to keep the sails closed as Kennit tied them up, jumping from one mast to another. Dahia rotated a wheel looking lever to lower the thrusters of the ship, which were located right below it. That also triggered a control panel to appear near the helm with extra controls, just like the ones from any other ship. Skade took all the Storm Hawks and Kaya to the lower deck.

"We must stay here until Jake gets us out of the storm." - she told them, then she turned to her crewmates and shouted - "Come inside, quickly!"

They all ran to the door, then the pirate navigator closed it. Everyone waited inside, the place was a bit tight, but it wasn't a problem.

"Won't he need help?" - Junko asked.

"We've already set everything up for him, all he has to do is pilot until the auto pilot can handle the ship on its own, then he'll come in here with us as well." - Dahia told them.

After a few seconds, they heard a very loud noise.

"What was that?" - Finn asked.

Skade opened the door to peer outside, Aerrow was right behind her so he could see as well. They saw the ropes on the sails were starting to snap.

"The wind's too strong... If the sails will go lose, we'll be dragged by the tornado!" - the woman shouted - "He has to secure them!"

"He can't do that and pilot the ship at the same time!" - Aerrow said, then he ran outside.

"No, wait!" - she reached an arm out.

"I'll come back soon. Just lock the door!" - he said, and she did as she was told.

Aerrow ran towards Jake.

"You should be with the others, don't worry about me!" - the pirate said.

"The wind's about to snap the ropes tying the sails together!" - the sky knight warned him, pointing at the masts.

"That's not good... I guess I'll have to cut the sails down." - the man said in thought - "Okay, take the helm, I'll deal with the sails!" - he ran off towards the masts as Aerrow grabbed the wheel.

Jake quickly climbed up a mast and began cutting off the rope that held the sail on the top, so he could detach it from the mast and remove it. The big roll of cloth and metal fell on the floor.

"One down, three more to go." - the pirate said.

He jumped on another mast and proceeded to cut the supporting rope again. After getting the sail off, he leaped to the other mast and did the same, leaving only one mast to finish. He tried to jump, but the wind was so strong it pushed him back towards the mast he was on, making him hit his back against it quite hard.

"Are you okay?" - Aerrow shouted.

"Yeah. I'll find another way to get to that mast." - Jake replied.

He grabbed a rope and tied it to the tip of a spear, taking the shaft off, then he loaded it on his gun and shot at the mast. The spearhead got stuck in the other mast, which gave Jake an opportunity to use the rope to get there. He kneeled down and grabbed the rope with his hands, then headed towards the other mast. Once he got there, he began cutting off the supporting rope.

"Almost there, just a little more and..." - he said, but he was interrupted by a strong gust of wind that pushed him off the mast.

Luckily, his foot got caught on some ropes, so he wasn't thrown away. But he was starting to slip, since the ropes were soaked, so he quickly reached his arm towards the supporting rope to finish cutting it before he'd eventually be dragged by the wind. Aerrow saw that and immediately realized what Jake was doing.

"Oh, no, I won't let you do that to your crew." - he said as he pressed the button to turn on the auto-pilot.

" _Here's the auto-pilot interface! Where's the destination?_ " - the A.I. asked.

"Liberty Reign. Does this ship have a high-speed impeller?" - the boy asked as he looked at Jake again.

" _Of course!_ " - the A.I. began to talk - " _The Manta has a state of the art high-speed impeller designed by the best..._ "

As the A.I. spoke, Aerrow saw the pirate almost slip, and he was about to finish cutting the rope.

"Okay, then hit it with everything you've got and get everyone out of here!" - the sky knight interrupted the A.I., then ran towards the man in the red coat.

The auto-pilot turned the impeller on and gave the thrusters a good boost that pushed the ship forward really fast. At that very moment, Jake cut the rope and got thrown away, so Aerrow opened his glider and allowed the wind to push him towards the pirate. He managed to hit the man and grab a hold of him. The two spun in the air uncontrollably for a few seconds, until the wind straightened their flight up.

"What are you doing?" - Jake asked.

"Helping your crew. You can't abandon them." - Aerrow replied.

"I'm not abandoning them. I just won't risk their lives to save myself." - the pirate said.

"Well, you don't have to die if you accept a little help." - he responded.

The man just smiled. But his smile faded as they saw the sky light up, then they heard the loud sound of thunder consuming the noise of the storm.

"It's okay, it's okay. Lightning only strikes targets at the highest points, and preferably targets made of metal, or trees." - the captain tried to calm the situation down.

"My glider _is_ made of metal!" - the sky knight said.

"Don't tell me the highest target's also..." - the man trailed off for a second.

"US!" - both shouted in unison as a lightning bolt hit them, electrocuting them and burning the glider completely, only it's metallic structure was left.

They plummeted from the sky, until Jake tried to use his coat to help them glide towards what looked like the edge of an abyss. They managed to reach the place, but they landed so hard on the ground that both ended up unconscious.

* * *

A few minutes later everyone that was inside the lower deck noticed the noise from the storm wasn't that loud anymore, so they opened the door and realized they were no longer in the dangerous area. They looked around and saw no trace of Aerrow or Jake.

"Aerrow!" - Piper shouted as she stared at the storm area staying behind - "They were caught by the storm! We gotta go back to find them."

"We can't go back yet. The tornado's in the middle of that storm right now. We'll have to wait until it goes away and takes the storm with it to go look for them." - Skade said as she assumed the helm so she could stop the ship and keep it close enough to the location but in a safe distance.

"They might die in there! We gotta go back now!" - the crystal mage insisted.

"I know you're worried. I am too. But we can't risk the rest of the crew. They'd not want us to be foolish..." - the woman said softly with an upset tone in her voice.

The girl blinked. She got what was going on, so she just nodded and went quiet. It seemed Skade had been through something really bad before. So she respected her actions and understood them. Kaya approached her.

"You saw her aura flicker, didn't you?" - the Grandmaster said.

"Yeah. Something wrong happened. I wonder what it was." - the blue haired girl said.

"I believe it has to do with Jake's death. But I think we shouldn't try to figure out or have her talk about that. Certain things are better left untold." - Kaya commented, and Piper agreed.

The crystal mage looked at the tornado dancing in the storm.

"Please, be okay." - she said.

"They are. I can sense their auras. They're alive." - the small girl reassured her.

"But I can't even figure out where they are through Aerrow." - the navigator said.

"It's because he was probably knocked out somehow. The link of the mind can only be performed if both ends are conscious and aware of their surroundings." - Kaya told her - "You might have to wait a while then try again."

Piper nodded. She hoped they'd be safe until she and the others could go look for them.

* * *

A while later Aerrow woke up. He was lying on the ground under the rain. He pushed his torso upwards and coughed a bit, then he winced in pain as he put his hand on his head.

"Worst landing ever..." - he muttered.

"You don't have to tell me that." - Jake said as he sat up near the boy - "I feel like I was ran over by something." - he rubbed his aching back.

Both soon stood up to look around.

"Where are we?" - the sky knight asked.

"I think we're in unexplored territory. It's in the charts but no one has come here." - the pirate told him.

Aerrow turned around and stared at the storm.

"That tornado's still too close by. We'll have to wait a while to ask the others to come pick us up." - he said.

"Well, let's find a shelter, then. It's freezing out here." - the man told him.

They walked towards a small forest. Halfway there they heard a strange sound and stopped dead.

"Did you hear that?" - the boy whispered.

"Yeah. But I can't figure out where it came from." - the pirate replied.

They felt the ground tremble, then suddenly a beast emerged from it, throwing dirt everywhere and causing both of them to fall on the ground. They were sitting there as the huge animal glared at them. It was a three headed lion looking beast with a scorpion sting on the tip of its tail.

"We need to get out of here!" - Aerrow whispered.

"I know, but don't do sudden movements just yet, we can't draw too much attention." - Jake whispered back.

They stood up slowly and backed away one step after another.

"Easy... Just move very slowly..." - the man said calmly, until the beast swung its tail and hit its sting on the ground right in front of him - "Okay, forget slowly. Let's just run!"

Both quickly ran away, the animal roared and chased after them. Aerrow glanced behind him.

"It's catching up!" - he shouted, then he looked at the edge of the abyss ahead of them - "We should jump!"

The boy expected the man to hesitate, but that didn't happen.

"Right behind you, pal." - he said in agreement, which made Aerrow blink.

They ran for it and jumped. As they fell, they looked upwards and saw the beast didn't follow them there. It quickly stuck its sting on the ground to prevent itself from sliding off the edge, since the ground was soaked and very slippery. Aerrow pulled his sword out and hit it against the rocky wall, and Jake did the same. Both came to a stop at last, then they looked for something that could help them.

"There, a cave!" - the boy pointed at a small opening in the wall - "Let's check it out."

They climbed the wall until they reached the small cave. They used their swords to light up the place and observe. They saw it was just a hole in the wall, there was nothing inside, so they should be safe there.

"Looks clear. Guess we'll stick around." - Jake said as he sat on the ground.

"Now we need to figure out how to make a fireplace." - Aerrow spoke.

"I got it covered." - the pirate said as he put a cooking crystal on the floor.

"Yeah, that'll do, but why do you have a cooking crystal with you?" - the sky knight asked as he sat down.

"Pirate tip number one: always carry a cooking crystal around." - the man explained - "If you ever end up shipwrecked or lost, at least you can easily create some heat and cook something to eat."

That was certainly a really good advice. The boy even remembered when he and the others were stranded in Terra Tropica. If they had brought a cooking crystal with them, things would have been easier. Jake pulled a bottle out and drank a little from it.

"Rum?" - he offered to the boy.

"Ah, I don't think I should." - he replied as he shivered a bit and rubbed his arms with his hands.

"Look, just one sip of rum won't cause you any harm. At least it's better than sitting there freezing like that." - the pirate offered one more time.

Aerrow grabbed the bottle and took a small sip. As he swallowed the drink, he frowned disgusted.

"This thing's awful, how can you drink that?" - he asked as he handed the bottle back to the man.

Well, he was no longer freezing, so that was a good thing.

"After you get used to the taste it's not that bad. It can help you withstand lots of pain and the cold too." - Jake explained - "But you're right, you're too young, so you shouldn't drink anyway. This time was an exception, since it was an emergency." - he took a sip of the drink.

The two sat there quietly for a moment, until the pirate spoke again.

"Thanks for the help there. Everyone escaped safely because you decided to give me a hand." - he said.

"You couldn't do everything alone." - Aerrow shrugged it off, then he lowered his head - "But I should be the one thanking you. You helped keep my squadron safe and worked with me even though I was hostile towards you all the time."

"That's what we're supposed to do, right? We're leaders, so we gotta take care of the crew. That's our main priority." - the man said.

"Yeah..." - the sky knight agreed as he thought about the times he went over his own limits to save his team - "My squadron and I have been through a lot. We've always looked after each other, but I always felt very protective of them."

"I know what it's like. I'd die for my crew. I actually did already, haha." - he laughed a bit - "And I'd do it again and again to keep them safe."

Another silent moment passed by, then Aerrow spoke.

"I wonder what they're doing right now." - he said.

"I bet they're worried about you." - the pirate commented.

"After what I did during the trip? I'd think they're mad at me..." - the boy stared at the ground in front of him.

"Even if you did make them upset there, I'm sure they'd still miss you a lot." - the man said - "You're their leader, they follow you for a reason."

"What do you mean?" - Aerrow lifted his head.

"You know, many can be bosses and convince people to work for them, but leading means inspiring people to follow you wherever you go. Having the full trust of our crews, putting them in line every now and then, sacrificing ourselves and our own needs for them... Those are the traits of a true leader." - Jake told him.

Aerrow couldn't agree more with that definition, and the pirate continued.

"You're not a boss, Aerrow. You're a leader." - he said, which made the boy blink - "I noticed you felt intimidated there, but I'll tell you something: your team really cares about you. They're your friends, not your subordinates, and you inspired them to follow your lead. You're the leader they want, you can never be replaced by anyone else."

The sky knight felt quite happy after hearing that. He was... Irreplaceable... Jake's words reached very deep within him... He realized his squad never actually left his side at any moment, not even when Carver fooled them, because all they did, even if they made a mistake, was try to help him, and the first moment they saw Carver's true colors they were ready to come for his aid, and nothing would stand in their way. So he finally learned Jake had never intended to make him look bad at all. He had just been trying to be friendly. The pirate was a seasoned leader, he knew what he was talking about, so when he said Aerrow's team wanted the boy to lead them, he meant it. Kaya was right, Jake did reveal something in Aerrow: he helped restore his confidence in himself and his trust as a leader on his team mates.

"I'm sorry about earlier. I misjudged you. You're a good person, but I let the fact that you're an outlaw get in the way." - the red haired boy apologized - "I guess I was just being a stuck up idiot. And I was afraid for no reason..."

"You made a few poor choices, but in the end you went out of your way to save me, even when it meant sacrificing yourself." - the pirate told him - "You looked past that uptight judgement and saw what really mattered is what's in the heart. So you already redeemed yourself." - he placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, which made him smile.

The two grinned. Yep, they were cool now. And they had just formed a new friendship. They noticed the rain was getting weaker so they looked outside. The tornado was out of sight, it was gone, so that was the time to call the others to come after them. Aerrow suddenly felt a surge of energy and his eyes shone for a moment.

"Piper!" - he said - "She's trying to contact me."

His eyes started glowing again, and he heard her voice in his mind.

' _Aerrow! Are you okay?_ ' - she sounded really worried.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Jake and I found shelter, we were just waiting until the storm ceased." - he assured her.

' _Where are you? We're coming to pick you up._ ' - she asked.

"A small cave by the edge of the abyss. We'll signal when you're in sight." - he told her.

* * *

A few minutes later the two leaders stood by the entrance of the cave waving to Jake's ship. The Manta approached the cave and a ramp was connected to its opening. As soon as they saw their leader, the Storm Hawks shouted his name in unison and ran towards him. Piper and Radarr hugged him at the same time, while Kaya flew by him and landed on his shoulder, hugging his head briefly with one of her wings.

"We were so worried." - the crystal mage said as Radarr whimpered in agreement, then chirped happily.

Finn and Stork came closer as well, then Junko appeared and pulled everyone into a tight bear hug. After the wallop put everyone down, they caught their breath.

"Thanks, guys, I'm just glad you're alright." - Aerrow said.

"You two better wear some blankets and eat my soup, or you'll catch a fever." - Gorgon said.

"Yeah. Let's take you back to the docks. We spent too much time waiting that tornado go away." - Jake said, and everyone walked to the ship.

* * *

Soon everyone was back in Liberty Reign. Stork had brought the Condor to the docks, since the people from the reign showed they'd not attempt to steal anything from them. The two crews stood one in front of the other to bid farewell.

"Well, I guess it's time we say goodbye. It was great having you guys around. I hope we can do it again. When we're back to peaceful times, that is." - Jake said.

"Sure, that'd be awesome." - Aerrow agreed.

The leaders shook hands friendly. Both crews observed with smiles on their faces. After such a heated start between the two it was nice to see they came to be good friends in the end.

The Condor rose in the sky with the whole squadron and Kaya, except for Stork, who piloted the ship, standing on the balcony and waving. The Bladed Gunners waved back.

"Hey, Dahia, did you load the special ammo?" - Jake turned to the gunner.

"Yes, captain!" - she aimed at the sky and shot.

The cannon ball flew and exploded into some fireworks, forming the Storm Hawks symbol in the sky and the words "Have a safe journey!" right below it. The squadron felt very happy. That was probably the most welcoming place they'd ever been to so far. As the Condor disappeared in the clouds, they thought about Liberty Reign and how they'd never forget how humble and kind the people in there could be if given the chance.

 

* * *

**NEXT EPISODE:**

**Episode 57** (parts 1, 2, 3 and 4)


	18. Episode 57 - Part 1

**Episode 57 - Wasteland Wonder**

**Part 1 - Stranded**

The Condor was flying smoothly in the skies. Yes, smoothly, but not silently. An annoying noise came from inside the ship: Finn was playing his guitar. The blonde strummed his fingers on the musical instrument randomly, and random notes completely out of tune came out over and over. Stork was at the helm, his eye twitching nervously as he slowly turned his head to glare at the sharpshooter, his grip on the helm tightening. Everyone else had their hands on their ears, Radarr was pulling on his so hard that they looked like they'd be ripped off his head. Kaya seemed to be just as distressed as the little animal, for her hearing was also very sensitive. She actually winced in pain a little.

"Finn!" - Piper shouted as she walked towards him - "Stop that noise right now!" - she yelled, but the "music" was so loud he couldn't hear her.

Then suddenly, the boy had his guitar snatched away from him forcefully by Aerrow. The leader eyed him angrily and nodded towards Kaya, Radarr and Stork.

"My eardrums..." - the little girl said painfully as she softly rubbed her ears - "I felt like they were about to explode."

Radarr sighed in relief that the noise had finally stopped. What came over the blonde?!

"What's this all about anyway?" - Kaya asked.

"We've been flying for hours and no sign of the next reign. I was bored, I thought some music would distract me." - the boy crossed his arms a little annoyed that they all had to interrupt him.

"Well, if you wanna play music, you should first learn how to play that guitar of yours." - the girl said as he eyed her a little indignantly because of her comment about his skills - "Let me show you how it's done." - she grabbed the guitar Aerrow had left resting against the wall.

She sat on one of the seats around the round table, placing the guitar on her lap. She slowly strummed her fingers on the steel cords and a nice melody came out. Junko, Aerrow and Piper smiled and exchanged glances, then stared down at Radarr who was actually moving his head accompanying the rhythm. Ah, now that was music...

"Ugh, this boring stuff? I wanna play rock!" - Finn said - "I doubt you can..." - but then he was interrupted by the guitar sound.

Kaya played a fast paced guitar solo in rock style, but unlike him, her notes were flawless, which made his jaw drop. No way! Once she was finished, all the others applauded her performance, even Piper. Finn blinked at that and turned to her.

"Why are _you_ clapping?!" - he inquired, pointing at her as she looked at him with a questioning expression - "You don't even like rock."

"I might not be into that kind of music, but at least what Kaya played was music." - Piper put it simply as she placed a hand on her hip - "I could listen to her playing that all day, but I can't stand five seconds of your noise." - she stared at him with an unimpressed expression.

The boy just mumbled under his breath as he looked away annoyed, then Kaya's voice drew his attention again.

"You know, I can be nice and teach you how to play actual music if you want." - the Grandmaster offered.

And she was being honestly kind. She wasn't going to mess with him. He glanced away from her for a brief moment, then sighed.

"Alright, alright." - he said calmly, gesturing with his hands - "You did show you know your stuff." - he commented as he sat down on the seat beside her.

She flashed him a quick smile before she spoke.

"Well, you do know a few tricks too. You just gotta learn to discern noise from music, then you're all set." - she said with a positive tone.

The others just watched with smiles on their faces. Piper was actually proud that Finn wasn't acting all childish about that, he was dealing with that pretty well.

"Who is he and what did he do to Finn?" - she teased to Aerrow, Junko and Radarr, and the three giggled at that.

Indeed, for once Finn was showing some sign of maturity. The boy began strumming in the guitar again. A few notes out of tune came out, but Kaya directed him to the right path, so he finally started playing an actual melody.

"Heh, now this is sounding very nice." - the sharpshooter said.

"Yeah, you're getting the hang of it." - the Grandmaster commented.

But then, all of a sudden the ship shook from the impact with something, causing Finn to miss a note and play a long and loud out of tune sound.

"What happened?" - Junko asked as he walked near the windows to take a look outside.

"Something rammed against one of our boosters." - Stork said while he observed the ship scanning system showing its damaged thruster - "We'll have to land to make some repairs."

Finn stepped beside Junko and looked out the window at the land below.

"Dude, are you serious?" - he said - "We're so not gonna stay in this ugly place." - he pointed outside.

Then they heard the sound of an explosion coming from the Condor's left booster. As dark smoke came out of it, the ship began loosing altitude.

"Well, now we have no other choice." - Stork said bluntly - "You better prepare for the emergency landing, it's gonna be rough." - he said a little darkly.

The sharpshooter just blinked a bit angry and disappointed. Gee, was everything against him that day? He walked towards the handrails at the center of the bridge, but when he was halfway there the Condor shook again, causing him to trip up and go head first into the metallic railing. He rubbed his sore nose, then glared at the pilot. He did that on purpose, didn't he?

"I told you it was gonna be rough." - the merb said without looking at him.

The blonde just rolled his eyes as he held onto the vertical metallic supporting pole of the handrails. The ship shook once more, which sent Kaya flying. Her body flipped in the air once as Junko reached an arm out to catch her. As she fell with her back against his hand, gravity made her body settle in his arm as if he were carrying a baby.

"Got you." - he said as she looked at him with wide eyes from that sudden flight.

"Thank you, Junko." - she placed a hand on his shoulder, now that she could actually reach it, as she flashed him a smile.

"You all better prepare for impact in 3... 2... 1..." - Stork made a countdown.

As if there haven't been enough impacts already! The Condor hit the ground and slid forward a little. Everyone inside lost balance and fell on the floor. Radarr was also sent flying thanks to the force of the impact, and Kaya quickly reached an arm out to grab him by his tail before he would crash against the window. The animal sighed in relief and chirped in thanks, giving the girl a thumbs up.

Once the dust outside the ship settled down, they all could take a look at the place had they landed on.

"Where are we?" - Junko asked as he put Kaya down on the floor, and she let go of Radarr so the mission specialist could stand beside her.

"Hm..." - she put a hand on her chin in thought as she walked near the window and briefly touched the glass - "I'm not sure... I know there's a big empty space between Liberty Reign and the next reign on Eridius' list, but I could swear it was supposed to be actually empty, as in, just sky and clouds, not a vast wasteland like this..."

"What, we were going in the wrong direction?" - Finn asked with a disappointed tone.

Kaya shook her head.

"No, the northern lights show we were going through the right path... I guess this place's always been here and I just didn't recall it." - she shrugged.

The others stared out the window. That was certainly strange, after all, it would be pretty hard to forget about such a huge desert wasteland like that. Something was definitely wrong, they just had to hope they'd not run into trouble there...

* * *

Everyone stood outside the Condor, observing the empty landscape. The place was a vast plain, the ground was very solid, covered in pure dust, but not like sand. The air felt very dry, causing sensitive noses like Radarr's to hurt from the lack of humidity. There wasn't much that could be done for the little animal, though, so he'd have to get used to that. Stork brought some tools with him to the left damaged booster. He had climbed a ladder to check out what was going on with it.

"How's the damage, Stork?" - Aerrow asked.

"Well, like I said, something rammed into us and caused a malfunction." - the merb told him, staring down at his leader.

"How long will it take to fix it?" - the sky knight said.

"A few hours, since I gotta figure out what crashed into us and got stuck in the booster." - the pilot replied.

"Hours?!" - Finn complained - "Oh, man! Why did we have to land on a boring and dull wasteland of all places?"

"It's not so bad." - Junko commented, then everyone saw he was lying down on the ground, moving his arms and legs - "There's so much soft dust in here I can make a dust angel." - he smiled.

Piper, Kaya, Radarr and Aerrow giggled a bit at the wallop, exchanging glances among each other, while Finn crossed his arms.

"If you call something harsher than a brick wall soft..." - he said as he kicked some of the dust on the ground - "I bet we'll have to work twice harder later just to make up for the wasted time here." - he referred to Kaya's training.

Normally he'd not mind that much to waste time, but when it came down to having to work more to compensate it, he really hated wasting time.

"On the contrary, Finn." - she told him - "I'll have you guys train right now, while Stork fixes the Condor." - she walked past him, then used her staff to trace a line on the ground - "The four of you, please stand over here." - she pointed at the three boys and Radarr, and as they did so, she continued - "We'll have a quick race to warm up. Your objective is just to beat me, not even win in first place. We'll run around that big rock over there and come back here."

The blonde noticed she didn't make Piper go through that.

"And why won't she run?" - he nodded towards the navigator. Just because she was a girl she'd have things easy? That was unfair! Kaya simply stared at him with an unimpressed expression.

"Piper is way too awesome for this." - she said bluntly, making the crystal mage smile shyly.

"You've got to be kidding m..." - the boy began, but was interrupted by the little girl.

"Don't back talk to your master!" - she shouted in his face, making him swallow what he was going to say, then she turned around and walked towards Piper with a bag on her hands - "Instead, she'll get the chance to do some advanced crystal mastery training I've been telling her about." - she handed her the bag - "I brought several kinds of crystals from my training HQ for you. Test them all you wish."

"Ah, thank you, Kaya." - the first officer said as she grabbed a levitation crystal - "There are quite a few rare ones in here. And some I haven't even heard about." - she said while picking up a strange pink crystal.

"Yep, I've got some exclusive crystals from the Greatland here and..." - then she saw Piper holding the pink crystal and rushed towards her, gently and quickly taking the crystal from her hand - "Hehe, oops! This one here is... Ah... Something else... I-it wasn't supposed to be in that bag. My mistake, sorry." - the Grandmaster laughed awkwardly as she put the crystal in her pocket before the navigator could question about it - "That was close! Guess I'll have to wait for a better time..." - she said under her breath so nobody could listen.

Piper blinked a little confused, but she didn't mind if she wasn't supposed to use that crystal. However, she noticed one thing when she took a last glance at it right before Kaya shoved it in her uniform: was that crystal heart shaped? What was that all about? She pushed the thought aside, though, then proceeded to focus on her task at hand, since that mattered more.

She sat down and explored what was inside the bag. So many crystals! She was pretty excited. As she placed a few random crystals on she ground in front of her, she closed her eyes to concentrate, then slowly made the crystals levitate. Kaya nodded approvingly, then turned to the boys waiting by her marked line and walked towards them, so she could leave Piper to her meditation.

"Okay, then. You guys ready?" - once she saw the boys and Radarr nod, she spoke again - "On your marks! Get set! Go!" - she made the countdown, and the four shot out into the improvised racing track.

Aerrow had a good start, he was ahead of the others. Guess the extra training he had with Kaya the other day was paying off! But then he looked behind him and had a little surprise.

"Huh?" - he blinked, drawing the others' attention as they followed his gaze: Kaya was still at the marked line!

They all slowed down and came to a stop. She noticed that.

"What are you doing standing there?" - she asked - "This is a race, remember? You gotta run!"

"But you're not coming." - Junko said.

"I am, I'm just giving you guys a good head start so you can have some advantage." - she told him - "C'mon, move, guys, keep running!" - she shouted in support.

They just shrugged and went back to the race, picking up pace quickly. They were going around the big rock and finally lost sight of the Grandmaster standing in the marked line when the wallop spoke.

"Do you think she'll be able to catch up with us? We're halfway there already." - he asked.

"Hmpf, c'mon, she might know some stuff, but she can't be that fas-" - Finn was about to say when a gust of wind and some dust flying in the air interrupted him - "Dude, what's up with the wind?" - he said as he used his hand as a fan to blow the dust cloud away from his face.

"Finn... That wasn't the wind..." - Aerrow pointed forward at the finishing line.

Once the sharpshooter stared at where the sky knight had pointed at, he just blinked in surprise.

"No way..." - he said with an upset expression.

There was some dust in the air, slowly settling down, revealing Kaya sitting on the ground in her cheetah form: a big cat with black fur and blue dots. When they finally crossed the finish line, she shape shifted into her human form and spoke to them.

"You're all late by 2 minutes." - she said, making a gesture as if she were looking at an imaginary wrist watch under her sleeve.

"Wait, 2 minutes? But..." - Junko began - "That's how long it took us to run the course!"

"Exactly." - she said knowingly.

She expected them to finish the race in the blink of an eye? The wallop and the blonde stared at her in disbelief, while Aerrow just looked at her in wonder. He thought she somehow would make them all that fast, even if it seemed impossible. Radarr seemed to have shared the same thought as him.

"C'mon, guys. Let's strengthen those legs of yours. I'll make you the fastest bunch out there!" - she turned into a cheetah again - "Let's go, follow my lead and try to keep up!"

She sprinted ahead, and they all followed close behind, with Finn moaning in complaint. Ugh! More intensive exercise sessions! He was already starting to sweat from the heat of that place! Well, at least he could feel some cold breezes every now and then, so that should cool him off for a while.

* * *

As the others kept on their physical training, Piper just sat on the ground, concentrating on keeping the crystals afloat. They circled around her smoothly, and there were no signals that she was losing focus. While she practiced her skills, Stork was trying to figure out what was wrong with the Condor's booster. He was on top of a ladder, attempting to peer through the small gaps where the air was meant to pass through.

"It's too dark in there." - he said, then he noticed a floating solar crystal right next to his head shinning some light into the gap - "Oh!" - he blinked surprised, then he turned to look at Piper, who was obviously the one behind that - "Hm, thanks. That should do the trick."

"No problem, Stork." - she smiled, then after a moment, she asked him - "So, did you find out what's wrong?"

"It seems there's something stuck in the air filter, but I can't get a clear view of it." - he told her - "I'm gonna have to disassemble the booster to take whatever's there out and install a brand new filter." - he said as he climbed down the ladder.

He went inside the Condor to grab some tools and a new filter. He searched a little among the mess of spare parts he stored inside a container in the hangar, throwing some stuff behind him casually. He blinked when he didn't find the item he was searching for. He looked around, to see if it could have been put somewhere else. He opened more containers and threw lots of stuff out of them on the floor.

"Where is it? Where is it?" - he was growing impatient.

Where could he have put it? He placed a hand on his chin. He was pretty sure he had kept it inside one of those boxes. But then he blinked and quickly stared behind him: there, on a shadowy corner, was the air filter spare part. Once he picked it up, he realized it was completely wrecked, like something had chewed on it.

"Perfect... That's just great..." - he said annoyed.

He threw the air filter away, then it ricocheted against the wall, hit a pile of containers filled with several small metallic parts and bounced off it, flying out of the hangar and landing right beside Piper, briefly startling her, which made her drop her crystals on the ground. The next thing she knew, a very loud noise of all the crates filled with metal parts falling on top of Stork and making a huge mess inside the hangar was all she could hear.

"Stork!" - she shouted as she stood up and ran to the hangar.

Once she got there, she pushed some crates aside to unbury him. At last, he managed to breathe. She looked around quite surprised, not really in a good way.

"What happened?" - she said as she offered a hand to pull him out of that pile of nails, nuts and bolts.

"Our only spare air filter's destroyed." - he told her as he was helped up - "That's what happens when you have pets." - he said bitterly - "Now I'll have to build one from scratch and that's gonna take a while."

He walked past her as she followed him with her eyes, with a questioning look on her face. Wait, was he blaming Radarr for that? She just shrugged and went back to her training as he sat on the workbench with a small crate on top of it and began working on the new air filter.

* * *

"Well, that should do it." - the merb said as he lifted his perfectly crafted air filter.

He went outside, carrying the filter and a tool box, then headed for the ladder.

"What's the new air filter like?" - Piper asked without opening her eyes or moving from her meditating position.

"Better than the other one, since I tweaked a few things from the original design." - he said as he glanced at the item in his hands.

"Isn't that great?" - she said.

"I still would've preferred not to waste even more time to build a new filter, when we were supposed to have a spare one that'd have worked just fine." - he complained as he climbed the ladder and placed the toolbox on a small platform on top of it.

Piper just rolled her eyes under her closed eyelids and shook her head in response to his bad humor, then went back to focusing on her training.

* * *

Underground, right below them, there was a cavity, like a huge chamber. It was nearly pitch black inside and it seemed to be empty. But then, a large shadow moved quickly from the right to the left. And not longer after, several other similar looking shadows moved as well, following the first one. Whatever that wasteland was, there was something else there, something hidden deep underground.

 


	19. Episode 57 - Part 2

**Episode 57 - Wasteland Wonder**

**Part 2 - Boredom**

Aerrow, Finn, Junko and Radarr ran right behind Kaya around the desert wasteland. They all seemed to be keeping their pace so far, until the blonde tripped and fell on the ground, then his body refused to get up. The others were still running when the Grandmaster looked behind her and saw him lying on the dust. She just shook her head in disappointment, then addressed the others.

"Keep going, guys, head to that small hill over there. I'll go fetch Finn and catch up with you." - she told them.

She bounced ahead of them to impulse herself in the opposite direction, then shot quickly towards him. He was panting a lot when she reached him, his face turned to his left so he could breathe.

"C'mon, Mr. lazy." - she poked his head with her nose.

"Too... Tired... Can't... Move..." - he said through his heavy breathing.

Kaya rolled her eyes in response.

"Fine..." - she said as she lowered herself to the ground - "Climb up, I'll carry you there to give you a moment to breathe. But when we arrive, I'll expect extra effort from you." - she eyed him to make herself crystal clear.

Finn just frowned a bit, then tiredly placed himself on Kaya's back and held onto her fur to prevent himself from falling off as she sprinted after the others.

* * *

The group stood at the base of a small hill of dust. The hill didn't go too high, so the three boys and Radarr stared at Kaya, now in her human form, with a little bit of doubt in their faces.

"Hm... This is your suggestion of training speed?" - Junko asked.

"Yep." - she told him - "Your objective is to get to the top of the hill in the fastest time possible. And then, in a next run, try to beat your last fastest time and so on, until I see you're fast enough."

"But this hill is very small. There's pretty much no challenge in that." - the wallop commented.

"Oh, don't underestimate this hill here, Junko." - Kaya said - "I know it isn't that high, but it's quite steep and is completely covered in dust. It's almost like a dune." - she placed both hands on her hips - "Have you ever climbed a steep dune?"

"Uh... What is a dune?" - the flight engineer asked as the boys exchanged glances.

Kaya rolled her eyes and shook her head smiling.

"It's a huge mountain of sand, silly." - she giggled a bit at their total lack of knowledge - "You guys really don't know that much, do you?" - she frowned a little, to which Junko smiled sheepishly, Aerrow looked unsure and Finn didn't seem to care.

C'mon, they were the same age as Piper, how could they be that ignorant to certain things? It's as if they got stuck in the darkness of the unknown and never tried to shed some light on it. If Piper managed to do that by herself, how come they didn't try it as well? Enough questions... There were more important things to do.

"Alright, we'll have a 5 minutes break, then we'll continue with the new training course." - Kaya said as everyone sat down to relax a little, Finn complaining about his sore legs from all the running.

* * *

Piper was standing on the ground, several different kinds of crystals laid around her in a circle, and she stared at them.

"Okay..." - she said - "I hope this works."

She closed her eyes and began focusing. The crystals started floating around her and began rotating like a colorful ring. Once she was sure her control on them was stable, she concentrated a little harder to be able to use their power. Soon, a blue light enveloped her, and she was slowly levitated in the air. She spun graciously giggling as she soared more and more, then kept herself stable at the altitude she desired as she opened her eyes again. She smiled at herself, proud that everything was working the way she wanted.

She decided to go beyond that, though, so she actually shot out in the sky, flying in high speed. She cheered as she felt the wind blowing against her hair. She spun a few times in the air, taking in as much as she could from the experience. Aerrow was right, flying like that was certainly awesome! He knew how to have fun! But while she was distracted with her flight, she didn't notice she was dragging the wind along with her, so when she flew near the Condor, the wind blew a lot of dust where Stork was, completely burying him. He immediately glared at her. At that, Piper blinked and gasped as she put a hand on her mouth.

"Sorry, Stork!" - she shouted, then focused on the windstone floating around her and unleashed its power, blowing some wind towards him and taking all the dust away from him.

Once everything was clean around him, the pilot rolled his eyes impatiently, then went back to work. He saw Piper fly away.

"Don't wander off too far. I can barely see you." - he told her through his communicator as he worked on the Condor's booster.

"Don't worry. I'm just skirting the area, I'll be back in a sec." - she replied while she flew in a curve.

So far that place didn't look like anything special... Well, except for a couple of strange caves leading underground that drew her attention.

"Hm... What could those be?" - she wondered as she flew a little closer to them.

She could safely assume they reached very deep underground, since she could barely see anything inside before the lack of light consumed everything.

" _Those what?_ " - Stork's voice came from the communicator.

Piper got startled and nearly lost focus, which almost made her flight stop.

"Stork! Are you stalking me now?!" - she inquired.

Oh, the nerve! She could take care of herself! She didn't need a babysitter! She'd definitely have a talk with the guys about that when they got back and...

" _Uh... No?_ " - the merb's voice spoke again - " _You forgot to turn off your communicator._ "

Oh! Right... That was the truth, alright. She was so focused on her crystals and on her surroundings she didn't pay attention to the device in her ear.

"My bad..." - she said still mildly irritated - "Anyways, I was just talking about two caves I saw here. I think I should do some recon there after the guys arrive." - she told him - "I'm on my way back."

This time, she turned off her communicator. At last, some peace. As she flew past the caves and shot out towards the horizon, she didn't notice a shadow moving inside one of them, as if something had been observing her from there.

* * *

Back at the sand hill, or dune, one could spot five figures attempting to run all the way to the top. Aerrow, Finn, Junko and Radarr had holographic chains that tied them to holographic round weights, to make that exercise harder.

"C'mon, guys! Keep going!" - Kaya shouted in support - "Yes, that's it! You're doing great!" - she complimented upon seeing the extra effort from their part.

Well, at least, from most of them. Finn wouldn't stop complaining or making dry remarks.

"Why do we have to do this?" - he asked while panting.

"It's a resilience training. To help you guys become more resistant and agile." - the Grandmaster told him.

"Did it have to be in here?"

"I don't see why not. This place is perfect for what I had in mind."

"Why does he have it easy?" - he pointed to Radarr.

"You think his training is easy? Then let me show you what he's dealing with." - she said, then snapped her fingers.

Once she did that, the weights Finn was carrying became heavier and two other weights suddenly appeared attached to his arms, which made him suddenly be dragged face first into the sand. He struggled to get up in a standing position again, but he just couldn't stand straight up.

"No way he's carrying that much weight." - he said in disbelief.

"You better believe he is. He weights a few pounds, how much strength do you think he has to pull something as heavy as this up a sand hill?" - she knelt near him and showed him a replica of one of the weights Radarr was carrying in her hand - "It might feel light for us, but for him it's not." - she stood up, snapping her fingers again, making the extra weights disappear and the ones he already carried to become a little lighter again - "In truth, you're the one having it easy, since Aerrow's carrying twice as much as you and Junko's carrying about 2 tons on each weight."

Finn just blinked and stared briefly at the ground. Then something came to his mind. He didn't want to retaliate, since there was nothing in his favor to say, but he did have a question.

"Why... Go easy on me, then?" - he rolled his eyes at what he admitted, then gestured to his lighter weights.

"So you won't be left behind." - she told him - "One day you might get there, though. If you work hard enough, that is. It's all up to you." - she shrugged, then quickly ran to a position in the front - "Okay, guys, let's stop right here."

She made a move with both her arms, which made a platform appear under their feet. What was amazing: the platform was made of a solid sand block, so their feet didn't sink.

"It's time for the speed test! Let's get rid of those weights, first." - she snapped her fingers once again and all the holographic chains and round weights disappeared.

Junko felt much better without the chains around his ankles, he finally could stretch his leg properly.

"What's this test gonna be?" - he asked.

"A quick race to the top." - she told him - "Whoever crosses that finish line up there first wins." - she said, and they watched as two holographic poles and a ribbon between them appeared at the top of the hill - "And I'll be your opponent." - she placed a hand on her chest, then turned to Aerrow - "Okay, Aerrow. You and me, one on one. Are you ready?"

"You bet." - he smirked confidently as he readied himself right behind a line on the ground.

"Alright, then. Junko, could you please do the countdown for us?" - Kaya said as she transformed into her cheetah form and positioned herself beside Aerrow.

"Sure." - he said, then walked to the line, so he could observe whether they'd run at the same time or if one would run before the other - "On your marks! Get ready! Prepare! Get set!..." - he shouted.

Aerrow and Kaya just blinked and looked at him in confusion then stared at each other. Did he just say the same command over 3 times? And he kept shouting the same command over and over, just using different words!

"Steady! Get to starting position!" - the wallop shouted.

But then Finn quickly placed his hand over the big guy's mouth to prevent him from saying anything else.

"Go!" - the blonde shouted, to finish that seemingly never ending countdown.

The two opponents shot out very fast, leaving a cloud of dust in the air like a trail behind them. Kaya sprinted so fast, it looked as if she were flying. She was definitely going to win that very easily, but that didn't mean she would back down just to give him a chance. She ran as fast as she could, so the sand wouldn't drag her down. Soon she even leaped to reach the top more easily, since the very end of the hill was more steep than the rest of it. She landed on the ground and slid a few inches in the sand.

"So... Let's see how you'll go." - she panted a little while she turned her head to look for Aerrow behind her.

"What took you so long?" - his voice came from the very opposite direction, though, which made her quickly turn her head back to stare at Aerrow standing right in front of her, with his arms crossed and a smug grin.

Her chin fell a little and she transformed back into her human form, staring at him surprised as she just laid there in the sand and moved her arms in front of herself to support her chin. Then she blinked and smiled at him.

"Well, you got me." - she admitted, making him grin triumphantly.

"I owe that to your training." - he said as he offered his hand and helped her up - "So I'd say that counts as a win for you too."

"You can say that again!" - Kaya beamed at him, for he was speaking the truth.

She couldn't feel anymore triumphant than when one of her pupils succeeded, it was such a meaningful victory for her, maybe even more than it was a win for the pupils themselves! Imagining herself staring proudly at her well trained warriors doing great in battle was a feeling no words could ever explain. And it was also nice to see how Aerrow understood that so well. Oh, of course he did, while he wasn't really a warrior trainer like her or her uncle, he was a leader, and a leader does know how that feels, since they're the ones who try to guide their teams to victory.

The two stared at each other knowingly for a brief moment before Aerrow broke the silence.

"What's the next challenge?" - he asked.

"Once I finish this little race with the others, you'll all go through a quick timing test, just to check if you're in sync." - she told him.

"A timing test?" - he couldn't really imagine what that could be about.

"You'll see soon enough." - she said as she transformed back into her cheetah form and ran towards the others.

* * *

Finn and Junko sat on the ground at the top of the hill panting a little. Radarr and Aerrow, on the other hand, seemed to be fine.

"Alright, guys, now that you rested a little while, let's begin the timing test." - Kaya said as she walked in front of them until she came to a stop.

She snapped her fingers and chains linked all the four's legs together.

"Hey, hey, hey! What's this all about?" - Finn demanded.

"You'll all go through this little test I came up with: you'll have to run down this whole hill in sync." - she explained - "If you work together, you'll succeed easily, but if you don't, well... You better get used to having sand in your teeth. Because you'll go down face first into the dust. A lot." - she rolled her eyes at the part about having sand in the teeth - "Okay, time to get ready, guys!" - she shouted.

The sky knight, the wallop and the little animal got into their running positions quickly, while the blonde struggled a little to get up.

"Wait, just a sec..." - he whispered while standing up.

"Get set!" - Kaya shouted again.

"No, no, no... Don't...!" - Finn was still having a little bit of trouble positioning himself thanks to his sore legs.

"Go!" - the girl lifted both her arms, signaling the start of the "race".

The three sprinted immediately, dragging the sharpshooter behind them. He could barely keep his balance, and his legs were moving like crazy only thanks to gravity, which soon worked against him: he ended up tripping and falling on the ground, which caused the chains on Junko's legs to prevent him from moving freely, making him fall as well, and that made both Aerrow and Radarr fall face first into the ground. Kaya quickly placed a hand over her mouth to stop her giggles from coming out.

"It's okay, guys. Almost nobody gets this one right on the first try." - she told them, making them all stare at her - "Let's try again."

And once more they all got to the top of the hill and began sprinting towards its base. In their second try, they managed to get a few strides far until Junko's foot sank in the sand and he got stuck. At the moment the other three, unaware that the wallop was left behind, got to the limit of the chains' reach, they immediately got pulled backwards like the chains were elastic, which sent them flying in the air for a brief second until they crashed on the ground: Aerrow falling on his back and rolling over himself, Finn falling face first and sliding a few feet to the point his bent legs hung above his head, and Radarr falling on his butt and bouncing about three times.

"Uh... Keep it up, guys! You're getting there!" - they heard Kaya shout in support.

They got back to the top of the hill to give it another shot. Then began running down the hill, but since they weren't completely in sync, they ended up running like a long diagonal line, which caused Radarr to get his tail tangled on the chains. The chains painfully pinched his tail, which made him jump up high in the air, whimpering in pain. He frantically moved around, trying to unstuck his tail, but what he didn't notice, was that he ended up circling the others, which caused the chains to pull their legs together to a point in the center of that circle Radarr kept running in, preventing the guys from moving any further. Finally, Kaya managed to grab a hold of him and released his tail from the chain's grip.

"There you go, little guy." - she said softly as she patted him on the head, and he just chirped in relief - "You guys got quite tangled over there, huh?" - she gestured to the three boys struggling to keep the trio's balance, and they all eyed Radarr a little irritated - "Let's start it all over again."

Once again they got to the top and started running. Things seemed to be fine for a change. But then, of course, something just had to happen: the wind suddenly decided it didn't like Aerrow and managed to get some sand thrown in his eyes. The boy winced and his eyes burned a little with that awful itching sensation. He began running faster, trying to get the wind to push the sand away.

"Aerrow, slow down!" - Junko shouted - "We can't keep up!"

But the sky knight just couldn't stop. That burn in his eyes was driving him crazy! He proceeded to rub his eyelids with his hands, attempting to force the grains out of his eyes. Because of that, he didn't notice the others tripping in his fast pace behind him and falling one on top of the other like a domino effect. Kaya facepalmed at that. Darn it! Were they clumsy! But then something else happened: after falling on top of each other, the three began rolling down the hill after Aerrow, forming a big sand ball. At last, the leader managed to recover his vision, so he finally noticed the ground shaking a little, which made him look behind him and see the huge ball of sand right before it bumped into him and dragged him along downhill.

Kaya just watched with wide eyes as they kept rolling, then she winced from the loud thud of their impact on the ground at the base of the hill. She quickly sprinted after them, to see if they were okay. Upon looking at that mess of three boys, a little animal and a lot of dust and seeing they were only a little dizzy, she sighed in relief.

"Jeez, guys, this was your worst performance so far." - she told them in all honesty - "You really need more training in that aspect." - she put some emphasis on the 'really'.

They just stared at her with groggy faces, as if they were barely conscious.

* * *

A while later, all the boys and the missions specialist sat down at the base of the hill panting a lot.

"Well, this last run wasn't too shabby. It was passable." - the Grandmaster praised her pupils - "Guess that was enough sync training for today."

The boys and Radarr smiled gratefully, both for the compliment and for the ending of that training session. Who would have thought running downhill could be so hard? Kaya was definitely brilliant when it came down to creative training methods, just like Ayrgyn, though she was more objective, while the latter was much more surreal about the training.

"We should get back to the Condor now." - Aerrow said as he stood up.

But then he froze for a second before his eyes shone a little for a moment. He suddenly could no longer see anything around him, at least, not anything that was truly around him: instead of the dune, the guys sitting down and Kaya, he could see the vast sky, as if he were floating way up high in the air. And then he saw a light shooting out in the skies: it was Piper! She was actually flying!

"Wow!" - he smiled in awe.

And to think he couldn't really imagine how much more Piper would progress after what he had seen her do to some talons chasing her. She was so good with crystals, was it even possible for her to become even better? The answer was apparently 'yes, it was'. He just couldn't guess what new surprises she would bring.

"I know!" - Kaya's voice shouted, which made him turn his head in her direction and see she was standing beside him - "Isn't Piper amazing?!" - she said in a kinda fangirly way as she clasped her hands together and her eyes glimmered.

"Sure..." - he agreed, but something somehow felt a little odd there, and then it hit him - "Wait, how did you do that?"

"Did what?" - the little girl didn't understand.

"You... You can see her too, right?" - he asked, to which she nodded - "But I thought only I could do that... I mean, because of the link."

"And you're right. Only you can do that." - she pointed at him - "I might be seeing Piper, but I can't perform the link, I'm reading your aura right now while you're very focused on the psychic bond."

"I didn't know that was possible." - he told her.

"Yeah. And I'm not the only one who's able to do that, so be careful when using your link, or other aura whisperers might take advantage of it." - she warned him, and he nodded as the vision from the link faded away and they were both back with the guys.

"So, shall we go back?" - Junko asked - "It's way past snunch already."

"'Snunch?'" - Finn raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, it's like brunch, but with snack instead of breakfast." - the big guy explained.

"So, basically, it's a second lunch time." - the blonde said.

"More like third, since I had brunch this morning too." - the flight engineer told him.

Kaya just giggled, and Aerrow shook his head with an amused smile, then they led the others back to the Condor. Three lunches? That wallop could eat!

* * *

Stork was working on the Condor's booster. He used a screwdriver to loosen the bolts attaching the metallic frame protecting the filter. The frame was quite damaged, as if something had torn a hole through it. The merb was about to pick it up when he felt the wind dragging some sand with it.

"No! Not now! Not again!" - he shouted.

He couldn't let the sand get into the booster, or even worse, in his brand new filter! Again. He had just cleaned all the mess caused by a certain crystal mage's flight.

"What's the problem now, Stork?" - Piper asked impatiently from her sitting position on the ground.

She had come back from her little trip around the area and was trying to meditate, but somebody couldn't help being too noisy!

"Sand all over the place." - he said bluntly as he waved his hands around trying to prevent the grains from sticking to his filter again.

The girl sighed angrily.

"I already apologized!" - she retorted - "Do you really have to keep dragging the subject?"

Talk about interrupting her training for something stupid... That was getting to her nerves. As if complaining like that would solve anything.

"I wasn't talking about then." - he mumbled - "I'm talking about now."

"Well, it's not me this time!" - she replied in advance.

"I figured that already..." - he glanced at her and rolled his eyes as he tried to keep his filter clean, which made her look away with a blank expression - "I just wish the wind would cooperate!" - he shouted at no one, and, for some odd coincidence, the wind died instantly, which caused him to blink - "Yeah, that's better." - he let out a small smile and went back to work.

Piper didn't pay much attention to that, though, for she was now squinting her eyes to see who were the five figures coming their way. Once she managed to identify them, she smiled.

"Great, the guys are back!" - she said - "Now I'll be able to go for my recon."

 


	20. Episode 57 - Part 3

**Episode 57 - Wasteland Wonder**

**Part 3 - Wishful Thinking**

"You saw caves? Where?" - Aerrow asked.

Piper had told him all about what she had seen during her flight once he and the others had arrived.

"A few miles... Uh... North from here?" - she wasn't entirely sure, since she'd have to check out the northern lights to be able to figure out which direction was north, but the sun was shinning too brightly in the sky, preventing the lights from being seen - "Anyways, I was thinking of going to do some recon there."

"Uh... I don't know if that's a good idea." - he rubbed the back of his head.

"Why not?" - she raised an eyebrow and shot him a questioning look, though she somehow seemed to know what was coming.

"You shouldn't be wandering on your own out there." - he said as he gestured to the vast emptiness around them - "This is an unknown place. It could be dangerous."

Yep, she had guessed correctly, as always. She crossed her arms unimpressed.

"I've done recon in uncharted areas many times before. Your point is invalid." - she replied.

"No, it's not. At least back in the Atmos we still had one vague idea of what to expect." - he told her - "But in the Far Side... We know nothing about here. Also, Night Crawlers could be following us and try to ambush you."

"You'd be able to see that thanks to our link. I'd not pretend I don't need help." - she said - "Though I can take care of myself, you know that." - she smirked a little at her own abilities.

"That's not the point!" - he retorted - "We should prevent bad things from happening, not try to mend them later!" - he explained.

"What if nothing bad happens?" - she attempted to make him see things in a more positive way.

He was making way too big a deal out of nothing, plus she hated being placed in the role of a damsel in distress, specially because she had always been such an independent person.

"And what if something does happen?" - he questioned back - "You can't know that for sure. And aren't you the one who always tells us to be prepared?"

Shouldn't she follow her own advice? She sighed.

"What do you expect me to do, then? Sit down and stare at the horizon?" - she shrugged in defeat, then moved her arm, gesturing to the line separating the sky from the ground - "I've already trained a lot with my crystals, even more than enough for a day. I can't keep doing that."

"Well... You... Uh... You could... Ah..." - he tried to come up with something, but he couldn't think of absolutely anything.

That was such a great help! For someone who tried so hard to have the final word he didn't seem to be any helpful when it came down to being creative. Nice job...

"Hm, excuse me, Aerrow." - Kaya said, cutting his thoughts - "Sorry for interrupting your lovely serenade there, I'm sure it was gonna be grand." - she added with notable sarcasm in the last part, referring to his failed attempt to speak.

Piper had to press a hand to her mouth to hold her laughter, while Aerrow immediately blinked awkwardly wide eyed and avoided direct eye contact with the navigator. He could hear Finn and Radarr snickering from a distance too, which made things even worse. What the...? He didn't... He wasn't even... Just where did she get that idea from?! And, hey! It wasn't that easy to come up with something constructive to do. At least... Not in the circumstances they were. How convenient... The Grandmaster spoke again, shifting the awkward tone of the conversation back to how it was before.

"But Piper's right." - she said - "The crystal mastery training drains a lot of energy. If she overdoes it too much, she'll end up depleting all her energy and the training will seek for the next source of energy: her soul."

The boy's eyes widened. He didn't know that! But what could she do, then?

"I have a suggestion, though." - Kaya drew his attention again and turned to Piper - "I've always wanted to watch you work from up close, so I was wondering..." - she poked her index fingers against one another as she approached her - "Would you like company in your recon mission?" - she stared at her with huge glimmering eyes, both hands clasped together in front of her.

The crystal mage looked at her a little surprised. She was flattered, alright, but somehow she thought there was more to that offer than just that.

"This is about the 'me going alone is dangerous' talk, isn't it?" - she said.

"In part, yes..." - Kaya admitted, rubbing her left arm - "But the real reason I wanna go with you is to see how you work." - she said as she placed a hand over her heart, and Piper could notice she was being honest - "Besides, Aerrow does have a point there."

"I do?" - he asked a little doubtful.

After having Piper deny every single thing he said and Kaya interfering in her favor, he began thinking he hadn't said anything right, not even once, and that he had no credibility at all. But it seems he was wrong... And, apparently, being wrong felt right because he was correct... Wait... Eh... Okay, now that was just confusing.

"Yeah..." - the Grandmaster was kinda surprised by his strange self doubt - "This isn't about Piper herself, but about any of us wandering around all alone." - she explained Aerrow's own point for him, and who'd have thought he'd need someone else to tell him what he himself meant because he just wasn't good at explaining his reasons - "Not even I recall this place, and you guys can trust that I know everything about the Greatland, so this is something. We better stick together until I can remember what here's all about."

"You're right." - Piper said at last - "Also, I'd indeed like your company, Kaya. It'll be much more fun doing recon with someone that likes it than by myself."

"Really?" - Kaya's eyes glimmered - "Great! We should pack a few tools right away!" - she was about to sprint inside the Condor when Aerrow spoke.

"Wait!" - he reached an arm out, drawing her attention - "What about the special training you had for me today?"

"Oh, that's right! I had worked on something really good for you!" - she said as she looked at him with nervous eyes.

She was conflicted now. At the same time she really wanted to go with Piper, she also wanted to teach Aerrow something new. Why did she have to choose between one of them?! Why couldn't she do both?!

"It's okay. You two can train together now, we can go for the recon later." - Piper decided - "I do feel like resting a little before going out anyway."

"Ah! Thank you, Piper!" - the girl quickly hugged her - "You're the best! I promise I'll pack up some really neat tools so you can use during our recon!" - she said excitedly as she held her hand in hers.

"I'm sure you will." - the navigator giggled while the girl let go of her hand and ran to Aerrow.

"Okay, let's begin at once!" - Kaya said as she pulled the boy by his wrist - "I'll turn you into a fully fledged sky knight in no time!"

"Woah, what are we gonna do?" - Aerrow was quite impressed, it was the first time she had spoken about his sky knight abilities, he was curious now.

"You asked just in time..." - the Grandmaster told him.

* * *

"...I'm gonna teach you something really cool today." - she said as they got to a larger empty area beside the Condor.

"And what is it?" - he asked again, his curiosity was just too much at that moment.

"Now, just a sec, my turn to ask you a question: how much do you know about sky knights?" - she suddenly turned to him.

"How much I know?" - he put a hand on his chin - "Well, sky knights lead squadrons, protect terras, they have to know sky fu, they must be skilled skyride pilots..." - he listed - "Oh, and they can also perform a special move!"

"Only one?" - she asked him a rhetorical question, and at that he stared at her with wide eyes in surprise, guessing what she was getting at - "Something you don't know is that sky knights can learn several special moves."

"Seriously?!" - he was amazed, if he just had known - "But, I've never seen any sky knight use more than one move."

"It's because that's very ancient knowledge. Did you know that the very first sky knight, in your Atmos' records, that is, actually learned the technique for the special moves from ancient carvings in very old caves?" - she told him - "Those caves survived the Great Storms, there's quite a few of them in the Greatland, and some in the Atmos. They have the instructions for all the known moves, just like a manual."

"Then that's why we never knew about that. We never got the chance to see the complete 'manual'!" - Aerrow figured out, to which Kaya nodded.

"That's right. A pity, really. But you're a lucky one: I'm gonna teach you some new moves!" - she lightly poked him in the stomach - "Let's see... You're the sky knight of the Storm Hawks... So your base element'd be lightning... Of course, right, that's why you can do the Lightning Claw, hah, I don't even know why I'm wasting time deducing this." - she laughed a little at what she considered her acting silly, but that actually sparkled Aerrow's curiosity.

"Wait, I have a base element? I'd never really thought about that." - he said.

"Well, guess I should explain the theory before heading to the practice. It'll be helpful." - she decided as both of them sat on the ground - "Okay, listen, there are many, as in, really many moves, and they're divided in categories, their 'elements', as they were called: earth, fire, wind, lightning, water, ice, nature, holy, etc." - she drew on the sand with her finger so he could visualize her explanation - "The original knights'd specialize in one base and learn all the moves of that element. And I believe the sky knights of this new era have done that subconsciously because of their squadrons."

"You think so?" - Aerrow pondered.

"Yeah. Let's see, by what uncle Ayrgyn told me, there's a squadron called the Rex Guardians, right?" - she began, and Aerrow confirmed - "From what I learned, I can say their sky knight's base element is holy."

"I guess I can see that." - the boy chuckled a bit.

He could indeed imagine someone like Harrier would have that element, since he was all about honor and being super disciplined, it simply matched him.

"Let me think about the other squadrons my uncle told me about..." - she put a hand on her chin and looked upwards, trying to remember everything in detail - "The Rebel Ducks were a squadron that lived in the southwest areas of Atmos... Hm... The climate in there is temperate, so their element must've been wind." - she deduced - "Then there's the Absolute Zeroes, just from their name I can guess they're all about ice." - she giggled a bit - "The Third Degree Burners protect an arid terra, so they probably have the fire base."

So far Aerrow could easily agree with that. He had met all of those squadrons in person and from what he had been able to see, her deductions matched pretty well.

"What about Starling?" - he asked.

"She's the lone sky knight that used to help you guys, right? Let me see..." - she thought a little - "For some reason I think her base might be earth."

"Earth?" - Aerrow didn't really follow that deduction - "How exactly are you figuring this out?"

"Well, I'm thinking about two things you'd told me about her: her weapon and her special move." - she told him - "Her weapon alone didn't really tell me much, but the way she performs her move did."

"What do you mean?" - he didn't understand.

"Just think about her move." - she said - "How does she do it?"

"Uh... She flips backwards onto her hand, then pushes herself in the air and spins her nunchucks to unleash a shockwave." - Aerrow recreated Starling performing her sky knight move, the Nunchuck Fury, in his mind - "But what does this tell you?"

"The little details are everything." - Kaya explained - "She does this backward flip so she'll be able to touch the ground and draw energy from it."

"Wow, really? I always thought that was only her style or something." - he shrugged.

"Now I ask you: why do you jump so high in the air to perform your move?" - her question made him blink in realization.

"To... Draw energy from the... Sky..." - he noticed - "Wait, then that means the Dark Ace knew a sky knight move and so did Repton. And maybe even Ravess and Snipe!"

"You're right. I recall you telling me the Dark Ace always used a special move in you." - she said in thought.

"Yeah, and it hit hard, like a lightning bolt." - he placed a hand on his chest, where he had been struck by that move once.

"Then I believe that was the move Lightning Blast." - the Grandmaster guessed - "He concentrates a lot of energy into an unstable bolt that causes a lot of damage upon impact. But it can't really pierce things like yours does."

"So you think my move is better than his?" - Aerrow asked.

"Personally, yes. Your move has much more utility, since you can use it wisely to take out more than one target at once, rather than just blowing up one single enemy." - the girl explained - "But today I'm gonna teach you a move you probably might have dreamed of knowing."

"Which one?" - the sky knight was very curious.

"I'll give you a tip, then you guess it: the best of the best's signature move." - she said with a tone of suspense, just so he could drown himself in the awesomeness of what she had just said.

And that's what happened. Aerrow's chin fell and his eyes widened.

"You mean... Lightning Strike's move?!" - he said almost as if he couldn't believe that, and Kaya nodded excitedly - "That's... That's great! It's amazing! W-What's it called?" - he couldn't contain his happiness.

"A cool move like that obviously has a cool name." - she commented - "It's the Lightning Charge. I'd say that's my personal favorite from all the moves of the lightning base."

"And which move is your favorite one from all of them?" - the boy became curious.

If Lightning Strike's wasn't her all time favorite move and it was an awesome move, he just couldn't imagine what her favorite one was like.

"I'm glad you asked! I'll show you. Uncle Ayrgyn recorded it for me!" - she pulled out a memory crystal and showed a hologram with the recording - "That's the very first sky knight, so he's a Rex Guardian." - she pointed at the image of a man dressed in impeccably clean golden armor, just like the Rex Guardians Aerrow had met, but he looked a lot mightier than Harrier ever would - "His move is called Grand Smite."

They watched as the sky knight jumped in the air, pointing his greatsword to the sky. Then really huge angelic wings came out from it, shooting out thousands of fiery feathers that pierced through everything around him. Once he was done, he gracefully bowed down as the hologram faded away.

"Wow! Now that was a move..." - Aerrow was completely amazed - "But it's so destructive... How does he control it?"

"He was so disciplined he had full control over what he thought could or not be destroyed by the move. If not performed correctly, it can wreak quite the havoc, indeed. But it's such a beautiful move to watch!" - she said.

"Yeah, it is..." - he admitted.

He imagined what he himself would look like performing that move. And that made him smile a little. That'd be awesome... Maybe he could...

"Nah-ah..." - Kaya shook her index finger right in front of his eyes, snapping him out of his imagination - "I know what you're thinking about, and no, you can't learn more than one base. Neither can you switch bases." - she told him, which made him stare at the ground a little upset - "Don't worry, though, there are more ways to impress another person." - she patted his shoulder.

He looked at her with a questioning expression. What was she going on about now? But then he saw the knowing smirk on her face. At that, he eyed her funny, guessing what she meant. She simply loved to tease him, didn't she? And, again, where did she get those ideas from, after all? It wasn't like he was somehow giving away that kind of impression... Was it? That thought made him flit his eyes around frantically.

"Look, I'm not..." - he tried to explain, but there was no need.

"I know, I'm just messing with you." - she told him - "And you better get used to that, because I always teased my star pupils with something that'd make them really embarrassed. It's so funny seeing such mighty warriors like you blushing that way!" - and she actually pinched his cheeks for a brief second like he was a baby.

"Guess there's no escape from that, then." - he rolled his eyes amused.

"Nope!" - she smiled broadly as she softly poked the tip of his nose - "Alright, let's get you started!" - both stood up to begin the training.

* * *

A little while had passed as Aerrow and Kaya trained. The sky knight kept trying to focus on performing a different movement, but when he had absorbed enough energy, his wings appeared behind him.

"No, no, no, no." - the Grandmaster said - "You gotta stop those wings from forming up. You're supposed to envelop yourself in the energy, as if you were creating an armor for your body, not make extensions of your blades. Let's try again."

As the boy proceeded to go for another attempt, the rest of the squadron just rested, while Stork kept working on the Condor. Junko had prepared a nice meal and came down the ramp of the hangar bay holding a plate with a several sandwiches.

"Anyone hungry? I got enough for everybody." - he offered.

The wallop saw Piper sitting nearby and hovered the plate in front of her. She opened on eye to see the yummy looking food and smiled.

"Thank you." - she grabbed one of the sandwiches and took a bite - "Wow! It's actually really delicious, Junko."

He grinned happily at her. He had been chosen to be their chef for a reason, hadn't he?

"Are you still training with the crystals?" - he asked, since he had heard from Kaya she shouldn't be overdoing that. But, to his relief, Piper shook her head.

"No. I can't train way too much with them, so I'm just meditating a little and trying to focus on the aura whisperer technique Kaya taught me." - she told him - "I'm still not sure of how it works. I'll have to ask her later how to filter what the auras show me."

"But... Can you read anything in my aura right now?" - he was curious.

Piper looked at him for a moment with an amused expression, glad he was interested.

"Well, I can sense curiosity, happiness and..." - she squinted her eyes a little - "You sure are hungry today, since you ate a whole plate just like this one before coming down here."

"Haha, you guessed it." - he smiled.

"Oh, Junko! What did you make this time?" - the Grandmaster ran to him - "They look so yummy! Can I take two, please?"

"Of course, take as many as you want. There's plenty for everyone." - he moved the plate closer to her so she could grab the sandwiches.

She took two and quickly sprinted back to Aerrow.

"Alright, Aerrow, this is your snack. And you better do it right this time if you wanna eat anything today!" - she said as she tossed the sandwich in the air very high.

The boy just watched as the bread with whatever was inside it flew in the sky.

"What...?" - he was completely confused.

"C'mon, go, go, go! You gotta win against gravity to save your snack!" - the girl clapped supportively.

The sky knight didn't think twice. He focused and managed to make some of the energy envelop his body, then he dashed forward. He sliced one training dummy, quickly shot out for another and sliced it as well, then did the same thing two more times properly until he got to the last dummy. At that moment, the energy faded from him and his swords' light went out. He blinked a little desperate as he smashed his face against the dummy, then fell on his back. Shortly after, the flying sandwich landed on his chest.

"Ooh! Almost flawless!" - Kaya said as she punched the air - "At least you got your sandwich, so that was something. See? All you needed was some inspiration." - she put her hands on her hips - "I guess we should call it a day."

Both sat down to eat. Aerrow was definitely grateful for the food, he hadn't eaten anything since breakfast. The girl noticed that, so she offered him the snack she had gotten for herself.

"Here, have this one." - she handed him the sandwich - "I'll go get more from Junko." - she stood up and ran to the wallop.

The flight engineer gladly let her take some more sandwiches, then she sat down near Radarr, who was gnawing on his own snack. Piper came along to talk to her about the auras as Junko walked towards Stork.

"Want some?" - he reached the arm holding the plate up, but the merb shook his head.

"I need to focus here." - he said without moving his eyes from his work - "The structure is a little unstable inside the booster. I thought the thing that rammed into us was stuck in the air filter, but it's not. It somehow managed to go all the way to the back of the engine. I'm gonna have to take all the parts out to remove it from there."

"Wait, so it's a living being that got stuck in there?" - the wallop asked.

"Probably. But it most likely isn't alive anymore." - the pilot said - "Have you ever heard of anyone that went through a carrier ship's crystal converter and came back to tell the story?"

"Uh... No..." - Junko looked around a little creeped out, then he turned around and walked towards Finn.

The blonde was playing his guitar, a nice tune was coming out of it. But then he just set the instrument aside and lied on the ground, feeling a little sick for some reason.

"Hungry?" - the big guy offered him the sandwiches.

"I'll pass." - he glanced at the plate and motioned his hand indicating he didn't want to eat - "Ugh..."

"Hey! My sandwiches came out great!" - the wallop defended himself.

"I bet they did." - the sharpshooter said with an honest tone.

"Then what's the problem?" - the flight engineer inquired.

"This place, dude..." - the sharpshooter mumbled - "The wind is gone... And the sun... It's killing me..."

"Yeah, it got pretty hot out here all of a sudden." - Junko wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand.

"Man... What I'd give for some cold rain..." - he closed his eyes.

Then droplets of water began falling down from the sky. Soon the very soft drizzle became actual rain. Kaya quickly pulled out an umbrella and opened it to prevent herself, Piper and Radarr from getting hit by the rain drops. She noticed Aerrow completely soaked near them and gave him a sympathetic look.

"Sorry, there's only room enough for the three of us." - she smiled apologetically.

He just stared a little disappointed but didn't resent about that. Then everyone suddenly heard a scream and turned to where it had come from: Stork.

"My new filter... It's ruined!" - he shouted angrily.

"Why? What's wrong?" - Junko asked.

"It got soaked!" - the merb grabbed the filter and showed it to the others.

"And why's that bad?" - Finn didn't follow.

"The air filter must always be dry to work properly!" - the pilot explained - "Not even during a storm the filter gets wet, because the heat from the engine vaporizes the water before it comes in contact with it." - he climbed down the ladder - "Now the filter I'd just made is ruined, because someone just had to ask for rain!"

"Hey! As if I had anything to do with the rain. It was mere coincidence!" - the blonde retorted.

"Stork, would drying the filter help?" - Aerrow asked.

"No. Water causes a chain reaction on the filter's material, making it useless at filtering anything." - he replied as he picked out some fragments of the filter detaching from its structure - "Drying it out won't change what's already begun. I'll have to build another one. Again." - he said as he walked back inside the hangar.

Everyone else just followed him with their eyes in silence.

"Well, at least the weather cooled down a bit." - Junko said as he shrugged shyly.

* * *

About two hours later, Stork had already built a new filter and had arranged a shelter all around the damaged booster, to prevent the rain from disturbing his work. Even then, there were a few leaks on the improvised small roof, so he had to be very careful. But it was hard, specially because the rain had gotten a lot stronger. It was almost becoming a storm.

"Why didn't you ask for a mega storm right away?" - he said to Finn.

"I told you I had nothing to do with this! It was a coincidence!" - the sharpshooter shouted angrily.

Piper just shook her head from where she stood near Radarr and Kaya at the inclination of a very small hill.

"So much for wanting a drizzle, now we've got an everlasting rain going..." - she said - "I'd wish to finally have a little bit of sunlight for a change."

Aerrow glanced at her from the corner of his eye when she spoke, but then he blinked and turned his head to fully look at her. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped. Woah! Piper noticed his stare and that was starting to creep her out a little. After all the teasing from Kaya that day she certainly found that look on his face strange. Why was he staring at her that way?

It was then that she squinted her eyes and realized he wasn't looking at her per se, but at the place she was standing at. She looked around and saw Radarr and Kaya staring upwards with the same look in their faces. She hadn't even noticed the little girl had closed the umbrella! So she followed their gaze and gasped at what she saw. There was a hole in the clouds! It was raining all over the place, except at that very spot where the three stood!

"How did you do that?" - Junko asked her.

"Uh... I-I don't know... Wishful thinking I guess?" - she said unsure.

"Okay, then I'd really like some more sunlight around here." - Aerrow risked.

And just as he expected, the clouds opened a large area around the Condor, and then, after a moment, faded away completely, causing the rain to stop for good.

"This was just a coincidence... Wasn't it?" - Finn said as he frowned a little, drawing everyone's eyes to him.


	21. Episode 57 - Part 4

  **Episode 57 - Wasteland Wonder**

**Part 4 - Underground Unknown**

Everyone stood near the Condor, except Stork who was still working on the engine. They looked around a little tense, wondering what was going on.

"Well... There's definitely more to this place than we thought." - Aerrow said.

"Maybe we should apply the 'nothing is what it appears' rule from the Forbidden City in here too." - Piper commented.

"Then someone did wish for the rain, after all." - Stork said in a mocked delightful tone as he glared at Finn.

"I couldn't have known!" - the blonde crossed his arms and looked away annoyed.

"So you think this place's a wasteland that grants wishes?" - Junko suggested, drawing their attention.

"That might actually be true." - Kaya said as she bent down and brushed her hand on the ground - "This soil isn't really normal. There's something strange about this place." - she picked up some sand and rubbed her fingers against the dust to feel it.

"I have a feeling that whatever it is, it's underground." - the sky knight spoke - "Let's check out those caves Piper found earlier."

* * *

Aerrow, Junko, Piper and Kaya were driving towards the caves, the boys each on their respective skimmers and the girls on the navigator's heliscooter. Finn and Radarr had stayed behind to watch over the Condor and Stork. That, and the blonde obviously wasn't in the mood for exploring some creepy cave in the middle of nowhere. That was Piper's thing anyways.

"There!" - the crystal mage pointed ahead of them.

They soon came to a stop near two caves. The four stared at them, examining them carefully. They had very distinct shapes, they weren't really just holes leading underground, they actually were like small piles of dust that had been shaped like sea shells or something. And by what they could see, their insides weren't bland, irregular or spiky like normal caves, they were different: they had some smooth concave curves facing the inside that looked like they had been carved by something.

"Those are some strange caves..." - Junko commented.

"Yeah, there's something peculiar about their structure... But I can't seem to point out what it is yet." - Piper said.

"Only one way to find out: let's get inside." - Aerrow said as he got out of his skimmer.

"We'll split up, then?" - Kaya asked, to which the sky knight nodded as he pulled out his swords.

"Junko and I will go to this one, and you and Piper will go to that one." - he pointed to each cave with the blade on his right hand - "We'll rendezvous here in about one hour."

The two duos parted ways and entered the caves. Who knows what they'd find there.

* * *

Finn just sat down strumming randomly in his guitar. Boy, was he bored! Radarr, then, was so bored he was almost falling asleep. And the sharpshooter couldn't help but keep playing music just to make him even more sleepy. He slapped himself once in an attempt to stay awake. Then tried to hold his eyelids open by gluing them to his head with duct tape.

"You look totally quaint, Radarr." - the blonde said sarcastically.

The animal glared at him, but since his eyelids were glued open, it looked more like he was staring at him with wide eyes. The boy just laughed at the lack of facial expressions from the little guy. But then he heard a noise and looked down.

"Hey!" - he shouted.

The co-pilot had glued his hands on the guitar with lots of duct tape. Finn glared at Radarr, but the latter didn't give a care about that. Served him right! While that, Stork just tried to figure out what was inside the booster. He had already taken lots of parts out, but that thing was nowhere in sight. He even ran a scanner once again just to be sure he wasn't crazy. And the scanner confirmed there was something in there somewhere.

"Maybe it can become invisible..." - he wondered, then he put some goggles he had created to see if he could find anything - "Ah..." - he smiled a little.

He had seen the shadow of something. He picked up his screw driver and reached inside with it to poke that shadow, but when he was about to touch it, the shadow simply disappeared!

"Hm... It fooled my goggles, huh..." - he said in thought - "I'll have to come up with something else." - he put a hand on his chin.

The merb stared at the seemingly empty booster but fully aware that there was something in there, hiding from him. Whatever that thing was, it apparently was still alive. Now that was strange... How could it have survived? Well, soon he'd find out.

* * *

Piper and Kaya walked inside one of the caves, looking around for clues. They never needed to use any lights because the Grandmaster's armor shone in the dark, illuminating everything around them.

"That kind of crystal armor is very useful." - the navigator commented.

"It is, isn't it?" - the little girl grinned broadly - "I crafted it myself."

The first officer smiled at that. Now that was talent! They observed the strange walls and how perfectly round was the cave. That wasn't normal. No cave was as symmetric as a perfect circle. The crystal mage touched the wall to her right to study it.

"This is so strange." - she said - "It can't be natural... Something must've done this."

"Yeah. The wall feels odd too..." - Kaya added as she also brushed her hand against the wall - "It's not made of very dry dust or humid rock like a common cave. It feels... Viscous." - she rubbed her fingers on each other.

"Maybe we should take a sample with us." - Piper suggested.

"Sure, here you go." - the Grandmaster handed her a piece of plastic meant for that purpose, a pair of tweezers and a very small pickaxe.

The little girl observed as the teenager one worked carefully with the pick around a nice sample she had found to loosen that piece from the rest of the rocky structure. She watched amazed by Piper's control and ability while she used the tweezers to steadily remove the piece of rock from the wall and place it inside the plastic.

"There. We can study this later." - Piper said.

"You're so skilled at this!" - Kaya commented in awe, making the navigator giggle shyly.

"I did explore a lot in all these years..." - she admitted with no false modesty nor arrogance.

"Would you tell me more about your exploring trips another time?" - the Grandmaster asked with genuine interest and excitement.

"Of course! I'm thrilled for knowing someone that even wants to listen to those stories!" - the crystal mage said just as excitedly as Kaya was.

"Wonderful, I can't wait." - the little girl smiled - "Still, I'm very happy you let me come with you." - she said while she stood up holding their bag of tools.

"I'm the one glad you came along. This is being the most fun recon I've done in ages." - Piper told her as she placed the tools and the sample in her bag - "I guess it even beats my very first exploring trip. And that was a memory I cherish until today."

"Really?! That's awesome!" - Kaya clasped her hands together while the first officer smiled warmly at her.

"Well, shall we continue?" - she asked as she stood up.

"You lead the way!" - the Grandmaster said and followed right behind Piper.

* * *

Aerrow and Junko explored their own cave. The sky knight's swords were their source of light. The leader walked ahead fearless as always, but wary about his surroundings, while the wallop followed slowly and unsure. He certainly felt creeped out by that place.

"Junko, are you okay?" - the boy asked after he noticed how nervous he was.

The flight engineer quickly nodded, but then he shook his head.

"C-Can we get this over with as fast as possible?" - he stuttered - "I really didn't like this place."

Then he saw the shadow of something move fast beside him and make a strange sound, which made him jump and scream in fear. Aerrow turned around and readied himself for battle in the blink of an eye. He expected something to come at them, but nothing. He approached the wall where the sound had come from and found out what had made that noise: a small rock had fallen from the wall. His tense position relaxed and Junko sighed in relief.

"Just a rock. No danger here." - the sky knight shot him an assuring look - "Let's keep moving."

As they kept going ahead, they realized the narrow walls were starting to open up more space. The air inside the cave felt denser than normal and soon they were able to see some mist coming from deep inside the cave. The two stared at the fog and exchanged glances. Yep, there was something strange in there. They walked further and noticed some weird stuff on the walls and on the ceiling. Junko touched it and immediately regretted it.

"Eww..." - he said as he pulled his hand completely covered in goo - "It's so sticky and it stinks!" - but to Aerrow's surprise, and disgust, he licked the goo from his hand - "Wow, it tastes great, though. Sweet as honey. Want some?" - he offered.

"No... Thanks..." - the boy cringed as he watched the wallop eat that stuff.

For someone who was scared of a rock a minute ago, Junko didn't even flinch or hesitate on taking a bite of that strange goo. Sometimes Aerrow asked himself how could he just go and eat anything he saw in front of him without having his belly hurt a lot later. Then again, he had proven he possessed an iron stomach that could take on any kind of poisonous and hazardous food before. He wondered if the other wallops could do that as well or if it was just Junko who was something else.

He pushed those thoughts aside when he was called on his communicator.

" _You guys found anything?_ " - Piper asked.

"Junko and I found some strange goo on the walls and the ceiling." - he said as he moved his sword near the goo to illuminate it - "And..." - he didn't even know how to put it.

" _He's eating it, isn't he?_ " - she guessed.

"Uh... Yeah." - he confirmed unimpressed with the situation - "What about you?"

In the cave beside the boys', the girls were standing in a large dark area that had quite a few peculiar structures.

"We found what appears to be an underground chamber." - she told him as she walked near Kaya who tried to pry open a strange hardened shell like pod thing on the floor - "There's that same kind of goo all over the place, but, there's also more..."

" _More? More what?_ " - Aerrow asked.

"I can't say exactly what yet, but there's something I know for sure..." - she said.

* * *

Stork had taken all the parts of the booster out and was trying to find the thing that had rammed into them.

"...These aren't caves." - Piper continued speaking.

The merb reached inside the engine with a pair of grip pliers.

"They're actually hives." - she finished.

Once the pilot poked the strange thing, it came out of its cloaked stance and screeched at him. He screamed and flinched backwards, which made him lose his balance and fall off the ladder. Upon hearing the loud thud from the impact, Finn and Radarr quickly looked at him.

"Stork, what's going..." - the sharpshooter was about to ask when he saw the huge bug looking thing screech at him, so he finished his speech with a girlish scream.

The insect was completely black with glowing greenish eyes. It looked a lot like a fat stag beetle, it had the size of a person's head, maybe a little bigger. The co-pilot quickly intercepted the beast. He leaped on top of it and bit on its armored body. Then he froze, feeling the pain rushing through his veins. Woah! That thing was really, really hard! What was it made of? Diamonds? The foreign insect didn't waste its time, though. It rapidly twisted around in retaliation and bit Radarr's nose with its pincer like mouth. The little animal ran around like crazy trying to get that thing off him.

Finn pulled out his crossbow and aimed carefully. Then he shot, hitting the bug squarely in the head and staggering it. Stork took the chance to capture it by throwing it into a glass cage.

"What is that thing?" - the blonde asked.

They all stared at the creature screeching and ramming its tiny legs against the glass.

* * *

" _So we gotta be careful. We don't know what could be living in here._ " - Piper said through Aerrow's communicator.

"Right. Try to avoid drawing attention." - the sky knight advised, then he turned to Junko - "Let's get this recon over with. We gotta warn the others about this."

He walked ahead, with the wallop following close behind. They strolled inside a chamber in their own cave as well. It was just like the other chamber Piper had described to them. A large space with lots of goo everywhere and some hardened shell like pod structures. The boy heard the sound of chewing nearby.

"Junko!" - he whispered harshly to his side - "Stop eating the goo!"

"But I'm not doing anything." - the flight engineer said from behind the leader, which made the latter turn around surprised.

"Then... Who's making this chewing noise?" - Aerrow almost felt regret for asking.

He moved his sword towards where the sound was coming from. And there they saw: several bugs chewing on the goo on the walls. Their eyes widened. There must have been hundreds of them! One of the bugs stared at them for a moment and froze, watching them intensely. Another one suddenly lost its grip on the ceiling and fell on Junko's shoulder. The wallop looked at it, and from that closeness, the bug appeared very creepy, especially with it's orange glowing eyes, so he screamed and slapped the insect off his shoulder, causing it to fall on the ground.

The black beetle looking creature bounced twice on its back and remained lying on the floor with its belly exposed. It moved its legs frantically in desperation, since it could't turn itself to get back on its feet. All the other bugs that had seen that immediately glared at the two boys and screeched angrily. Oh, they were mad now! They made some buzzing noise and quickly climbed down the wall and ran towards them. The two screamed and ran for the tunnel they had come from, but when they got near it, the insects appeared in front of them.

"They're blocking the exit!" - Junko shouted.

"Quick, open a path on that wall!" - the leader ordered, pointing at a wall behind them.

The flight engineer lit up his knuckle busters and punched the wall with all his might, creating a massive hole. He kept punching over and over, digging their way out on solid rock as if it was nothing. A little while later, Junko noticed one of his punches opened a hole letting some light come in.

"I think we're back on the surface!" - he told Aerrow.

"Okay, keep it up, I'll take care of the bugs." - the sky knight said.

He ran back in the tunnel they had created and proceeded to slash the ceiling with his swords. A few strikes later the roof gave up, making lots of boulders block the passage. He went to Junko again, who had already gotten out and helped him up. Once they looked around, they figured where they were: very close to the Condor.

"Guess it's easier to go back to the ship and take another skimmer to get to the caves again." - the wallop suggested, and Aerrow nodded as both walked.

* * *

Piper knelt near Kaya and watched as she used a crowbar to open one of the pods from the chamber. With a few tries she managed to make the lid open. They peered inside. There were several glowing greenish balls there.

"I think they're eggs." - the crystal mage deduced.

"They don't look like they'll hatch soon." - the Grandmaster added.

"Yeah. I think we should leave them alone there." - the navigator said, to which the little girl agreed.

But then they heard a strange sound coming from above. They flit their eyes upwards and blinked in surprise. There were thousands of glowing larvae looking creatures. They seemed to be focused on chewing the goo from the ceiling, until one of them noticed the two girls staring at them. All of the other bugs then glanced at them as well. The two flinched in fear. Oh, no...

Quickly, the insects ran towards them. They tried to stand up to run but the creatures were too fast and easily caught up with them before they could even get up. Kaya buried her face against Piper's chest and the latter hugged her, hiding her face against the little girl's shoulder. They sat on the ground like that waiting for the imminent attack.

* * *

Aerrow and Junko had arrived at the place where the Condor was landed at. They saw the others standing near a glass container with one of the bugs inside it.

"What's going on here?" - the sky knight asked.

"That atrocity came out of my beloved Condor!" - the merb pointed at the huge insect desperately trying to get out of the glass cage.

"So it was one of those bugs that rammed into us?" - the wallop figured out.

"Wait, did you say 'those bugs'?" - Finn asked.

"Yeah. Those caves Piper saw are actually hives for these insects." - the leader told them.

"Eww... I knew this place was creepy from the start." - the blonde crossed his arms with a look on his face that said 'I told you'.

"Shouldn't we release it?" - Junko referred to the bug.

"Don't you dare let this thing loose near my ship!" - Stork threatened him - "If you wanna free it, take it back to the cave where it belongs to!"

Suddenly, they all heard the echoes of screams coming from far away.

"It's the girls!" - the flight engineer said.

"Junko, stay here with the others, just in case those things try to reach us from underground." - Aerrow ordered - "I'll go find Piper and Kaya and release this one." - he said as he picked up the glass cage.

He quickly went to the hangar bay to borrow Finn's ride. Then he drove as fast as he could back to the caves.

"Aww... He's gonna scratch my ride real bad, I just know it." - the boy commented in an upset tone.

Yep, Aerrow could be pretty reckless, specially when it came down to rescuing his friends. And he was known for pushing his skyride over the limits...

* * *

In a few minutes, the sky knight had arrived at the two entrances of the hives. He dismounted from Finn's ride and walked towards the cave on the right, carrying the glass container. Once the bug saw its home it seemed to settle down and become much more calm.

"Well, guess I can carry you on my back now that you cooled off a little." - Aerrow said as he pulled his swords out and placed the cage's hooks onto the holders for his swords on his back.

He entered the hive without hesitating.

* * *

Piper and Kaya were hugging each other waiting for an attack. But nothing happened. They slowly opened their eyes and let go of each other. The insects were just standing there, staring curiously at them. One of the caterpillar looking creatures hopped on the crystal mage's leg and climbed up her arm until it was near her face. Then it stuck its tongue out and licked her cheek, making her giggle. It left quite a trail of sticky saliva on her face, which she cleaned with her hand, but she didn't mind that much.

"So, they're friendly..." - Kaya said as she allowed another one of them to settle down on her lap.

The fat caterpillar rolled on its back, showing her its belly and sticking its many legs out as if they were arms open for a hug. The little girl couldn't help but give it a belly rub.

"They're so cute too!" - she giggled.

"I wasn't really expecting that." - the navigator commented, then she felt the bug on her shoulder licking her cheek again - "I think their saliva's that peculiar viscosity from the soil." - she said as she cleaned her cheek again and felt the sticky moisture's texture in her fingers.

"You're right, Piper." - the Grandmaster agreed - "I think I now know what this place is. This was once a wonderland, but the Great Storms changed the place into this wasteland. I believe these little guys are the only survivors." - she told her as she petted the insect on her lap.

"What kind of wonderland are we talking about?" - the first officer asked.

"The most wonderful place you could ever imagine, literally." - the little girl said - "I even had a book about here, but I didn't recognize it before because it's so different. It used to be such a beautiful and colorful place, filled with so much life. It's just sad that it became this." - she stared at the ground upset.

"I wish there was something we could do about it." - Piper said.

All of a sudden, all the caterpillars stood on their "rear legs", shaking their bums like happy dogs. Then many of them climbed on top of the crystal mage, some began licking her face and others rubbed their heads against her like cats. The girl laughed helplessly.

"That tickles!" - she shouted between chuckles - "Stop it!" - she laughed again.

On another section of the hive, Aerrow ran through the tunnels until he got to a wall.

"A dead end?!" - he shouted in frustration, but then he heard a shout of someone yelling for something to stop - "It's Piper!"

The beetle looking creature inside the glass cage rammed its head against one of the container's sides, trying to get the sky knight to understand it was pointing to the direction they should go to. But instead, Aerrow mistook that as the insect becoming distressed, so he tried to think of a way to quickly get them to the girls, like a shortcut. A shortcut... That was it!

"This better work." - he hoped.

He spun his swords in his hands as he absorbed the energy of the crystals, enveloping himself in an ethereal armor, then he charged at the wall on his left, breaking through it.

The two girls played with the little caterpillars when they suddenly heard a loud noise, like an explosion, coming from a wall on the entrance of the tunnel behind them and looked towards it startled. Once the dust settled down, they saw Aerrow standing there, with his hair completely messed up from the rough ride he had just put himself through.

"Oh, look! Our knight in shinning armor came for the rescue!" - Kaya teased him, making Piper giggle at the irony of the situation and also mostly at his hair - "I see you finally got the move right. Congrats."

The boy blinked perplexed after seeing they were safe and sound all along.

"But... I thought... You were in danger..." - he was genuinely confused - "I heard you scream from miles away." - he deactivated his blades as he walked closer to them.

"We did think we were done for a minute ago." - Piper admitted - "But turns out these little guys are very friendly and playful." - she told him while she picked one of the insects up and petted it under its head.

Aerrow approached them and crouched on the ground beside them. One bug studied him a little then leaped on him. He chuckled as he caught it in the air before it hit his chest, then observed the little guy climbing up his arm and settling on his shoulder.

"Oh, the guys managed to catch one of these." - he said as he pulled the glass cage from his back and placed it on the ground - "This one'd rammed into the Condor. I hope it's not hurt." - he spoke concerned while he opened the hatch of the container to let the bug out.

"Aww, poor thing. It must've been very scared being stuck in that booster until now." - Kaya said in sympathy as she reached for the insect and softly petted it - "I think it's fine, though, so that's good."

"So, have you figured out this place yet?" - the boy asked them as he looked around, the bug on his shoulder mimicking him, which caused him to smile at it and pet its head, amused by its antics.

"Kaya'd told me it used to be a wondrous place a long time ago, but after the Great Storms it became a wasteland." - Piper briefly explained.

"And what about those strange weather changes?" - he questioned.

"We believe these bugs are the key to that." - the Grandmaster said - "Their saliva must have some special properties, causing the weather to change at anyone's will, as long as they stand in here."

"We were also wondering if there was a way to help them find a better home or something." - the navigator said - "This place is way too harsh for these little things. It'll soon take its toll on them."

Aerrow put a hand on his chin in thought.

"What if we try to wish for it?" - he said his idea.

"Are you suggesting their saliva is magical and can grant wishes just like that?" - Piper was a little skeptical about it.

"It's just a thought. Maybe it could work." - he shrugged.

"Well... I guess it's worth a shot. In the worst case nothing will happen, right?" - Kaya said, trying to be positive - "Uh... I wish for a better home for you guys."

Then suddenly, the cave started shaking a lot as if it was about to collapse.

"Or maybe in the worst case this place'll get destroyed!" - the crystal mage was alarmed.

"We gotta get out of here!" - Aerrow shouted, then he noticed the bugs opening a new tunnel and gesturing for them to follow - "This way!"

The three went through the new tunnel, running as fast as they could. Kaya was the one in the front, so she could barely see the ground ahead of her when she tripped on a small rock and fell on the ground. Aerrow and Piper quickly ran by her with their arms stretched out so she could grab their hands. Once she got a good hold of them, they pulled her up fast and dragged her with them. Since they were taller than her, she felt almost like she was flying when they gave those long strides of theirs.

Soon they saw the sunlight and reached the surface, throwing themselves on the ground to get out more quickly. They panted for a while, trying to regain their breath. They noticed all the bugs from the other hive had gone out too. They stared distressed at their collapsing home. The three sat up looking sad at the insects and exchanging worried glances among each other.

"What have we done?" - Kaya felt awful for that.

But then, something amazing happened: a miracle! Grass started growing under them and all over the place. A soft drizzle poured down, filling up a small lake nearby. Even trees suddenly appeared, growing very fast and even producing some fruits! The three looked around in awe, gasping happily.

"The wonderland... It's coming back!" - Piper said excitedly.

Once the land was done with its change, all the bugs cheered. At last! After so many centuries, their wonderland was restored! The trio stood up, smiling at the insects.

"I'm glad they have their home back now." - Aerrow commented as he put his fists on his hips.

Then they all looked upwards after hearing the sound of the Condor's horn.

"Hey, you guys! Are you alright?" - Junko shouted from the hangar as he watched over them.

"We're fine, Junko! Did you see that?" - the leader replied.

"Yeah! That was totally awesome!" - the wallop said.

The ship hovered in very low altitude, then Finn and Radarr quickly jumped on the ground. The co-pilot ran to Aerrow and occupied his place on his shoulder, while the blonde boy went right to his skimmer to check for any scratches.

"Oh, c'mon, Finn, stop that, I didn't ruin your ride." - the sky knight crossed his arms.

"Just confirming, you know every time you act that way whatever ride you're on doesn't survive." - the sharpshooter said.

The leader just shook his head. Yeah, he knew that. But he just couldn't help it. He'd be nothing without his friends, his family... He observed the insects easily getting along very well. They were also a family that cared for each other for all those years. He couldn't be any happier for them.

Junko got near the bugs chuckling. One of them kept rubbing its head against his leg, so he picked it up and tickled its belly.

"This little guy is so tiny." - he said - "I'll call him Mr. Softy." - he smiled as Kaya approached him.

"That name suits him." - she told him as he lowered his hands to her height so she could pet the caterpillar - "Aww, he's ticklish." - she said when seeing the insect wriggle around a bit - "He's so cute!"

The girl and the wallop exchanged glances knowingly, then stared at the others with pleading eyes.

"Can we keep him?" - both asked in unison as they blinked twice.

* * *

**NEXT EPISODE:**

**Episode 58** (parts 1, 2, 3 and 4)


	22. Episode 58 - Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kaya, the Grandmaster and Dr. Sins belong to CarlottaStudios from DeviantART.  
> Detective Fire's appearance design (hair, eye and skin color, and name) belongs to firewolf121 from DeviantART.
> 
> You can view their profiles here:  
> [Kaya](https://123leyang321.deviantart.com/art/Kaya-CarlottaStudios-s-OC-made-with-mouse-only-379273724)  
> [Detective Fire](https://123leyang321.deviantart.com/art/Detective-Fire-firewolf121-s-OC-made-with-mouse-562541486)

**Episode 58 - Clueless**

**Part 1 - Surprising News**

The sound of an alarm ringing echoed through several corridors while red lights flashed in the dark. A shadow came out of a door and ran away in the night. Several guards that protected the building ran around crazily, looking for the intruder, but they didn't have success.

A Caucasian woman with silvery blue hair and stormy blue eyes wearing a navy blue and silver uniform with silver armor stepped in the middle of the scene. She knelt and picked up something from the ground, which seemed to be some kind of card. She squinted her eyes in anger.

"It's him!" - she said bitterly.

In the card she got there was a strange mark in the form of a scorpion. It was the signature mark of a certain evil individual she had been investigating. And she was determined to hunt him down at all costs.

* * *

The Condor flew in the skies towards another destiny. The team had a new mascot now, since they had decided to take Mr. Softy with them. They got closer to an area filled with many buildings of several kinds. The place looked kinda filthy and chaotic.

"Guys, this is the Praetora Province." - Kaya said to them.

Finn stared through the window unimpressed.

"What's it with you and creepy places?" - he commented, which made her glare at him.

"We won't stay here long. We only need some information from them." - she explained - "I know a few contacts that have a map of the location of the trainer of the bridge of the body."

"So we're not gonna recruit them?" - Aerrow asked.

"Well, I personally don't think it's worth it." - she said - "This isn't a reign, and they don't have a council or something of the sort. Each person here is independent and they normally only work for themselves."

"Why? Who lives here?" - Junko questioned, Mr. Softy resting on his shoulder.

"Mostly scientists, researchers, explorers. People that study a lot." - she told him - "This place's a completely free area with literally no rules. It's even more liberal than Liberty Reign, because they at least have their code, while here there are no boundaries. This makes it possible for everyone to study and research things without any limits."

"And that means?" - Finn didn't really get what was so bad about that.

"Basically, they're allowed to do things in here that'd be seen as unethical and immoral elsewhere." - Piper said, and Kaya nodded - "This isn't really a good thing. Rules are meant to keep people from going overboard. Even the thieves from Liberty Reign followed some rules of their own. These people from here don't have any barriers. They could be doing literally anything, good or evil."

"Yes, and we're going straight to them right at this instant." - Stork said - "In the best case scenario we'll probably be captured and experimented with until we all turn into mindless shells or some mutant creature made by combining all of our bodies." - he spoke sinisterly.

Everyone cringed at that, and Kaya looked at him with a knowing stare.

"No, they won't. They don't attack visitants. Honestly, they won't even pay attention to us, they're all way too focused in their researches to even remotely wish to be curious about us." - the Grandmaster told them - "And we're just gonna visit an information broker, that'll be the only person we'll have any contact with. This should be a quick trip there and back. Nothing more, nothing less."

"I hope so. Last time wasn't like that..." - the blonde said, then he felt something cold on top of his head and looked upwards to see Mr. Softy had made himself comfy there - "Hey! Junko! Will you put your pet on a leash? My head's not a nest!"

The wallop picked the little caterpillar up and tickled its belly.

"C'mon, Finn, don't get so mad, he just likes you." - the flight engineer explained.

"Say that to my hair..." - the boy complained as he tried to get his forelock back to the way it was.

The Condor landed by the docks and all of them got out. They walked by the area until they saw a woman interrogating a few people. She had a navy blue and silver uniform and silver armor. She seemed very serious about something.

"So you haven't seen anything strange in here. You didn't see someone sneaking in with a few exotic supplies?" - she insisted.

The person just shook their head. They didn't have any information for her. She sighed.

"Okay, thanks for your time." - she said as she walked away.

She had a kind of sheet on her hand and she checked it a few items. She noticed the Storm Hawks and Kaya arriving and quickly went to them.

"Hey, you!" - she shouted - "I'm Fire, Elite Detective from the Union of the Greatland Police." - she held up her badge - "I need to ask you a few questions."

"Hm, sure. What's going on?" - the sky knight asked.

"Okay, first off, who are you? You look like you're not from the Greatland at all." - she asked - "Except for that little caterpillar and the Grandmaster there, of course."

The others, except Kaya, blinked surprised. The little girl smiled.

"Hm... You're good. I'm not that easy to recognize." - she said as she crossed her arms.

"Well, you're right, we're not from here. We came from the Atmos. I'm Aerrow, and this is my squadron, the Storm Hawks." - the red haired boy said as he gestured to them.

"I'm Piper." - the navigator said.

"Hi, I'm Junko." - the wallop waved - "And this is Mr. Softy." - he pointed at the insect on his shoulder.

"I'm Stork." - the merb introduced himself.

"This one here is Radarr." - the Grandmaster gestured at the little animal.

"The name's Finn, but everyone calls me The Finnster." - the blonde said proudly.

" _No one_ calls you that." - the crystal mage corrected - "Give up already, that nickname's not gonna stick."

"It would if you didn't sabotage my attempts all the time." - he crossed his arms. The girl just shook her head, then turned to Fire.

"So, what do you need to ask us?" - she changed the subject.

"I'm on an important investigation. I'm tracking down a very dangerous scientist." - the detective explained - "I want to know if you've ever seen this person."

She showed them a picture of the wanted criminal. It was a dark skinned merb looking man. He wore a long white lab coat. None of the Storm Hawks recognized him, but Kaya looked at that photo and shook her head.

"I think you won't be successful in your search." - she said.

"And why's that?" - Fire asked.

"Because Dr. Sins's passed away centuries ago." - the Grandmaster told her.

Everyone looked at her with wide eyes.

"What are you talking about? He's been sighted in the Union's headquarters stealing confidential materials from our lab last night!" - the woman said.

"Him a thief? Haha, now that's ridiculous. Dr. Sins was an old friend of the Guardians. I knew him. He was a great person." - the little girl said - "And he died a pretty tragic death to save us a long time ago. There's simply no way he could've been in your HQ."

"Okay, enough! You might have influence as the Grandmaster but you can't try to protect a criminal!" - the blue eyed woman said.

"What?! He's not a..." - Kaya was about to retort when the woman showed her some photos.

"These are confidential pictures from the security cameras in the HQ." - she said - "Is this the same Dr. Sins you're talking about?"

The girl blinked in disbelief. And the others also seemed surprised.

"It's him!" - Junko said.

"It looks like that, but it could be an impostor, like when the Raptors tried to frame us." - Piper commented.

"No, it's not. I know his aura and I can see it in this photo. It really is him. But..." - the little girl lowered her head - "This is impossible! Even if he had survived what happened to him there was no way he could still be alive. He should've died from old age!" - she said in denial.

"He probably found a way to cheat on death." - Fire said - "I'd not expect less from a complete maniac."

"He's not a maniac! He was a pure soul, really devoted to the Guardians and has helped us countless times!" - Kaya shouted at the woman.

"Clearly we're not talking about the same person." - the detective crossed her arms - "Either that, or you didn't know who he really was. Well, I don't have time to waste on idle chatter. I need to continue my investigation." - she said as she proceeded to walk away.

"Wait!" - Aerrow called her, causing her to turn around to look at him a little impatiently - "We're also after somebody dangerous. We could really use your help to track her down."

"Who's that? Maybe I'm already on them." - she asked as she went to check on her lists.

"Master Cyclonis. She came from the Atmos, just like us. We're trying to arrest her before she can threaten the world again." - he told her - "She's the one who made the Night Crawlers from here work for her once more."

"Night Crawlers?" - the woman didn't understand.

"He meant the Hooded Shadows. They're called Night Crawlers in the Atmos." - Kaya explained.

"I see. Well, I've received a report about three portal activities and one entrance through the deadly caverns." - she said to them - "In the two first portal openings there have been signals of one individual coming, while in the third one six individuals came out, who were definitely you. And there was also a person who managed to come out of the forbidden caves somehow. I don't know how they survived, though. That place's filled with deadly beasts."

Piper gasped and exchanged glances with Aerrow.

"Do those caves lead to a lake by any chance?" - she asked.

"Hm... Yeah, I guess. They do go underwater. Why?" - the woman said.

"Then he actually made it here." - the crystal mage said in thought - "Do you have any idea of where that person went to?"

"Uh... I honestly think we shouldn't mind that right now." - the sky knight prevented the detective from answering - "It'll be best if we don't run into him again."

The navigator blinked.

"But... What if... He ended up joining Cyclonis or something?" - she made a hypothesis - "We should at least be aware of that."

"We'll find that out if we track Cyclonis down. And if he's not with her, that'll be better. One thing less to worry about." - the boy said.

She frowned. She could understand his attitude. She knew why he was acting that way, and she actually agreed with his feelings. But he shouldn't be letting that get in the way of their mission. He was preventing them from getting possible valuable information because of something... Personal. She just hoped he'd open up his mind a little next time.

"Well, I had checked all of the locations where those people came from and I couldn't find anything relevant." - Fire said to them - "I managed to track the general direction where you all went, but, except for you six, suddenly the trails simply disappeared. They stopped out of nowhere and I got stuck in a dead end. I know the Hooded Shadows tower is concealed from the rest of the Greatland, so that could be the explanation to their trails vanishing."

"Why didn't you try to follow us since you were still able to track us down?" - the leader asked.

"Because I went to the reigns you visited and interrogated some people. They all said you were a big help, so I decided to let you roam freely for now. Until I got something wrong on you, I couldn't act against you, so." - she shrugged - "Now that you said you're after a criminal, and I could actually see you all, I can tell from just looking at you that you're not enemies."

"From just looking? Yeah, right." - Finn didn't believe in her.

"Is that a challenge? Fine." - she suddenly grabbed on his face with her hand and pulled his head downwards - "You spent the first three hours of your day just fixing your hair and it got ruined right before you came here because of that little guy over there." - she pointed at Mr. Softy, then she pulled on his lips so he'd show his teeth - "You've eaten a vanilla cream and banana sandwich as breakfast and haven't brushed your teeth right after it." - she turned his neck around - "You most likely didn't know about this mole in the back of your neck for several years." - then she observed his ears - "You listen to really loud rock music quite often." - then she let go of him and put her hands on her hips - "How's that for a start?"

Everyone's eyes widened, and except for Finn, all of them smiled at her amazing deductive abilities.

"Lucky guess." - the sharpshooter crossed his arms irritated.

"I'm not the best for nothing, you know." - she said - "Alright, then, I'll give you guys a hand. Once I finish this case I'll investigate this Master Cyclonis for you. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to find a certain evil scientist." - she was about to sprint away.

"But how do we contact you again?" - the red haired boy asked.

"Don't worry about tracking me. I'll find you instead." - she winked knowingly at them - "See ya!" - she waved then left quickly.

"I think she's gonna be a great help, along with the spies from Liberty Reign." - Piper commented as she glanced at Aerrow, and he smiled in agreement - "It's been a while since I thought we should've hired someone with her expertise by now."

They all walked towards the "city" looking province. Kaya was staring at the ground in thought. There was something wrong going on, she could sense it. She could feel the darkness lurking deep inside the province, an evil energy that shouldn't be there.

"Kaya? Are you okay?" - the wallop asked, while Mr. Softy climbed down his arm so he could see the little girl.

"Oh, yes, sure. I was just thinking." - she said - "Well, let's go to the information broker now."

They headed to a slightly higher building than the others. It was a little bit distinct too, because it was a sterner construction, compared to the rest of the place. When they got inside, they also noticed it was cleaner too. They walked towards a table in the middle of the hall. A strange grey skinned man whose head resembled a snail's was right behind the table, typing something.

"What's your business here?" - he said without removing his yellow irises from the keyboard.

"I need to talk to your boss right away." - the Grandmaster slid a piece of paper on the desk.

The man looked at it and actually blinked.

"Hm... He'll be surprised in seeing you today." - he commented - "Just take the elevator over there and enter the first door to the left on the hallway."

The group took the elevator and walked towards the double door by their left. They opened it and saw a big room completely messed up with thousands of papers lying around everywhere and some desks and shelves filled with scrolls and folders, a man that looked like a reddish salamander with green stripes all over his body, gray hair on the sides of the head, blue eyes and wearing a white shirt with a black tie and glasses was walking on the ceiling frantically.

"Where is it? Where is it?" - he asked desperately.

"Hey, Ulok! Lost something important again?" - Kaya shouted.

"No time to chat now, I need to... Huh?" - he suddenly turned around when he realized who had just entered the room - "Oh, little miss Kaya. What a pleasure to have you here."

"I see you're just as organized as always." - the girl put her hands on her hips - "What did you lose this time?"

"A package one of my clients is coming to pick up tomorrow. It's a metallic cylinder, about this big." - he gestured as he walked by the wall towards the ground - "I'd put it on my desk today in the morning, but when I came back after breakfast it was gone! Someone must've snatched it!"

"Are you sure you didn't just forget where you left it?" - the girl smiled knowingly.

"I might be messy but I always know where I put the real important stuff. And I am 100% sure I put it right here!" - he pointed at the exact place in the desk where he had put the package - "See? It's even marked! Look!"

Everyone got closer and saw that the place where the package had been was surrounded by dirt, which meant it had been moved from there not too long ago.

"If I don't deliver that package my client'll turn me into a leather purse!" - he was alarmed.

"Perhaps he's right, Kaya." - Piper said - "What if it was the same person detective Fire was trying to track down?"

"I think we should look more into this." - Aerrow suggested.

"You'd do that? Oh, thank you! No wonder you're the biggest heroes of the world, the Storm Hawks, right?" - the salamander looking man said.

"How did you know that? We haven't even introduced ourselves yet." - the sky knight asked.

"I'm an information broker, young man. I know everything there is to know about you ever since you first stepped in the Greatland." - he said - "Tell you what, if you guys help me with this errand of mine, I'll give you any information you need, no charges."

"Score!" - Finn and Junko shouted in unison.

"Okay, fine. We'll help you out, Ulok. I also wanna know more about this strange case with Dr. Sins." - the little girl said - "Could you give us a tip on him?"

"Dr. Sins? I thought he was dead. Hm... Though I'm sure I received some information about him." - he said as he walked towards one of the many shelves near a darker corner of the room - "I didn't pay much attention to it because I thought it was just some old records or postmortem declarations. You know, kind of useless stuff." - he shrugged as he looked at them, then he turned back to the shelf and pushed some crates to the side - "Ah, here it is."

He picked up a box and brought it to the desk in the middle of the messy room, where the others waited. He opened it and let everyone peer inside and study its contents. There were several folders containing documents and some containing pictures. There was also a cracked glass packed inside a plastic bag meant for collecting evidence.

"Those are his." - the Grandmaster said.

"Yes, they were recovered from his remains. Well... I have to admit we were never completely sure that we managed to get all of his remains back." - Ulok said - "But still, there was no way he could've survived, it's simply impossible. Unless he came back from the ashes, literally."

"How exactly did he die?" - Piper asked.

Kaya stared at her with a serious expression, then looked at the cracked lens inside the plastic bag.

"It was a long time ago..." - she began.

* * *

"A really strong storm was pouring down mercilessly."

_Several dark clouds covered the whole sky. Lightning bolts illuminated the sky while thunders echoed everywhere._

"I was flying with uncle Ayrgyn, my mother and some of the other Guardians and Dr. Sins was using a skyride he'd built himself to come along."

_Six birds flew near a strange kind of helicopter looking skyride. It actually had a glass to protect the pilot from the rain. Another thunder echoed really loudly, scaring Kaya a little._

"It's okay, dear. We'll be alright." - her mother said as she flew closer to her daughter.

Ayrgyn looked up and frowned.

"This storm here's gonna get even worse, we better fly carefully." - he warned the others.

Some lightning bolts came near them and almost hit them. Kaya screamed as the bolt missed her by inches.

"Keep flying, I'll cover you." - the Dr. said as he flew his skyride upwards.

"Be careful, Doctor!" - one of the Guardians shouted.

The merb looking man used the helicopter to draw the lightning bolts to him and activated a force field around it. The lightning collided with the shield and was absorbed, giving energy to the ride. The scientist flew higher until he could no longer be seen. The lightning seemed to have stopped threatening them.

"We thought we were safe, but everything changed so quickly..."

_"Dr. there is doing a great job." - another one of the Guardians commented._

But nearly as soon as he said that, an even bigger lightning came towards them. The electrical bolt hit Kaya's mother directly and the bird plummeted from the skies.

"Mom! No!" - the little bird screamed in horror.

Ayrgyn wasn't entirely sure of where the lightning came from, but he could swear that he had seen it making a curve or something. The young bird that had just lost her mother was so distressed she was no longer thinking clearly. She tried to dive towards the fallen bird, but her uncle prevented her from doing so.

"Kaya, listen to me, there's nothing you can do now!" - he told her as he grabbed one of her wings with his paw - "We have to get out of here!"

"My mom! She's... She's...!" - she couldn't even speak properly from the shock, tears ran down her eyes like waterfalls.

Another strange lightning came towards them, and Ayrgyn acted quickly. He charged some energy in one of his wings and used it to deflect the bolt. It was completely reflected and disappeared in the clouds.

"C'mon!" - he said as he pulled her with him.

"O-Okay!" - she said not sure of anything else anymore.

They kept flying until they suddenly saw a strong light flashing right above them and the helicopter fell like a fireball, lots of smoke coming out of it.

"Dr.! Dr. Sins!" - the skeeler shouted, but no reply was heard.

He, just like Kaya's mother, had been hit by a lightning bolt and shot down from the skies.

"The Dr... He's... Gone, uncle..." - the little bird's eyes were tearing up.

"Yes... He saved us." - Ayrgyn said as the storm started to soften - "Let's get out of here so his sacrifice won't be in vain."

The two flew away and disappeared in the clouds, no more news from the other Guardians had been heard since them. But at least two had survived, because the doctor had shielded them from the last lightning bolt.

* * *

"So he sacrificed himself to help the Guardians?" - Aerrow said - "That's quite noble. It's hard to believe that he could've been responsible by these thefts."

"Exactly. But the thing is, in that photo detective Fire showed us, it was him." - the little girl said - "I don't understand why he'd do that. That's not like him, at least, not like the Dr. I knew..." - she picked up a picture of the two of them.

The merb looking man was holding a younger Kaya in his arms as she made some soap bubbles. The two were smiling a lot, as if they were having so much fun.

"I can understand that. He does seem to be a good person." - Piper said.

Junko approached the little girl and observed the photo in her hands.

"When was this taken?" - he asked.

"In my 5th birthday. That was a few centuries ago." - she told him - "Dr. Sins'd made a special kind of soap so the bubbles never popped and we could play with them, as if they were soap balls." - she sighed - "I just can't believe this..."

"Don't worry, Kaya. We'll find out what's going on. I'm sure there's more to it than what we're seeing here." - the sky knight knelt and placed a hand on her shoulder supportively.

"Thanks." - she smiled genuinely grateful for his belief in her and her words about the doctor - "Alright, Ulok, thanks for the heads up. We'll go check this case out."

"Ah, thank you. I'll separate some good stuff for you right away." - the salamander looking man said as he walked towards a couple shelves - "I'll be waiting for you!" - he waved at them.

They all left the building and walked on the streets.

"So, what do we do now?" - Finn asked.

"I think I know exactly where to start looking for clues." - the little girl said.

 


	23. Episode 58 - Part 2

**Episode 58 - Clueless**

**Part 2 - The Investigation**

Everyone followed the Grandmaster back to the docks, but to a very specific place. They went to a small building that looked like a bunker. There they would figure out what had happened. Once they stepped inside the bunker, a man that was watching several displays suddenly turned his head around in 180 degrees and stared at them intensely.

Finn, Junko, Stork and Radarr cringed at that. Okay, now that was creepy.

"Who's there?" - he asked, then he noticed Kaya - "Oh, it's the Grandmaster, Kaya! What do I owe you the pleasure?"

He stood up and walked towards them. They could see he was completely covered in brown and gray feathers, with huge green eyes. He was just like an owl, but he was a humanoid, wearing a dark green overcoat, with a white shirt and a red bow tie underneath.

"Hey, Hont, how's the Great Eye that sees everything doing?" - the little girl greeted him.

"Oh, that nickname won't ever leave me." - he chuckled - "I've been doing fine. What can I do for you?"

"I'd like to take a look at your logs from last night, to see if there was anything peculiar." - she explained to him - "I'm sure nothing could slip by your watchful eyes, so you're our best bet."

"Of course." - he said as he led them to a pile of crates, all properly dated - "What is this peculiar thing you're looking for?" - he asked casually as he pushed some crates aside to pick up the crate from the previous night.

"Dr. Sins." - the girl said quietly.

The owl looking man blinked and stared at her with a concerned expression.

"But, you know he's dead." - he said.

"Maybe not as dead as we thought." - she told him - "He's been sighted in the Union's headquarters, stealing equipment from their labs."

"He infiltrated the Union? And stole from them? But... How? Their security is top notch!" - the man was impressed - "Getting inside that place is nearly impossible, running away after a theft then..."

"Yes. But the thing is..." - she began - "I don't doubt Dr. Sins would be able to do that. He was really smart, you remember, don't you?"

"Oh, I do. He was a genius!" - Hont commented - "He was always ahead of everyone else. Before you could even think of doing something he had already finished it."

"Exactly. So he does have the ability. But... Why? That's what I don't understand." - the little girl shook her head.

"Revenge maybe?" - Stork suggested.

"Revenge for what? No one ever did anything against him. He didn't have enemies." - Kaya said.

"Well, after surviving the lightning that day he could've been enraged you didn't try to look for him." - the carrier pilot shrugged - "Merbs have a tendency of taking the worst out of the situations with them. And the one thing I'm actually curious about: how come he is a merb? I thought we only came from Terra Merbia."

"Just like there are humans everywhere, there are people of your race in more than only one place." - the owl looking man said - "You're quite different from the ones in the Greatland, though. Normally they're blue or black skinned. But you're green."

"Well, I've never heard of a blue merb, much less a black one. I guess we must be of different subspecies." - he said.

"That's actually very likely." - Piper commented - "Your species could be ancient and after the Great Storms it was divided. By living in different places, two subspecies were created."

"It definitely is an ancient species, since if Dr. Sins is currently alive, he'd be nearly seven hundred years old." - the Grandmaster confirmed.

"Here are all the logs from last night and the security videos." - Hont said as he brought the crate closer to them, then he picked up one of the tapes so they could watch it - "I'm sure we won't find anything unusual..."

But then he trailed off as everyone observed the screen very closely. The Dr was seen trying to sneak into the province. He appeared out of nowhere, simply popping in the video, and he actually managed to trespass the gate of one of the secluded areas of the province, areas reserved for the more famous and rich researchers.

"I can't believe it. It is him! That's like seeing a ghost!" - the owl looking man said - "But how come I didn't notice that? I'm sure I was watching over that camera."

The Grandmaster rewinded the tape a little, then they watched a certain part again.

"Hont, look!" - Kaya pointed out to him.

He paid attention and they noticed there was something wrong. The camera had been altered. Somebody had done something to the camera that caused the video to loop itself a few times at the very moment the Dr. was attempting to invade the province. But the camera wasn't fooled for too long, which explained why the timer began counting normally and how the Dr. suddenly popped in the video. And that happened in a split second, so no wonder the owl looking man missed that.

"He's pretty fast for someone so old." - Finn commented.

"Is there anything that can give immortality in the Greatland?" - Stork asked.

"Yes, but it's pretty much impossible to find it, because it's the Infinity Stone." - the little girl said.

"The Infinity Stone? But isn't it still lost in a dormant state?" - Piper asked.

"Yes. And even if he had found it, you need to know a lot about crystals to activate its powers." - Kaya commented - "Dr. Sins wasn't that knowledgeable about crystals, at least, not like a crystal mage. He was more into building machines and studying anatomy."

"Hm... He was into anatomy, huh?" - the carrier pilot said in thought - "I have some suspicions of how he could've survived for so long, but they're really dark and twisted ideas. Only a real madman would go through with that."

"And even guessing what he could've done shouldn't make you a madman too?" - the sharpshooter commented, causing the merb to glare at him.

"Well, now we know where he is. Let's go look for more clues there." - Aerrow changed the subject.

"Right. Hont, please keep an eye on those cameras so we'll know if he leaves the area." - Kaya told him.

"Don't worry. I'll pay twice more attention now." - the man assured her as the group walked away.

* * *

They all headed to the reserved area. There they found a big door that was locked tight. When they got closer to it, a voice came from the gate itself.

" _Halt!_ " - it shouted, then a blue light scanned them and once it was finished, the light turned red - " _Access to the elite area denied. Reason: no elite badge or visitant passport._ "

"Listen here, I am the Grandmaster, I have free pass anywhere!" - the little girl retorted as she showed a special badge to the machine.

The electronic door scanned the badge again, and the light turned red.

" _Badge not recognized. Reason: it is not registered in the system._ " - the gate said.

"What are you talking about? My badge's already been registered! I've come here several times!" - she responded - "Scan it again. Look for it."

The machine scanned Kaya's badge again.

" _Badge not recognized. Searching archives._ " - the door said as it verified all the system - " _Badge not found. Reason: record has been deleted._ "

"Deleted?! How? By who?" - she demanded an answer.

" _Searching records. No information found._ " - the gate said.

The little girl sighed angrily.

"You useless piece of junk!" - she yelled at it - "How could you just allow someone to delete my badge from the records like that?!" - she actually kicked the door - "You're supposed to protect our information, that's your directrix! What kind of security guard are you?!"

" _Warning: assault attempt. Warning: assault attempt._ " - the machine said then some huge taser like guns being held by some pipes appeared out of small gates that had opened on both sides of the door - " _Leave the area immediately. Any kind of physical aggression will not be tolerated._ "

"C'mon, that little kick didn't even tickle you. I didn't hit you that hard." - the Grandmaster said as she crossed her arms.

The machine charged its tasers and attempted to electrocute Kaya with them, but the girl pulled her staff out and transformed it into a huge greatsword. She used the blade to slice the guns in half, turning them into scrap metal.

" _Warning: dangerous target has been identified. Recommended actions: terminate the target._ " - the gate said as some weapons popped out of it.

There was a particle canon, another taser, some rotating saws and a laser grid.

"Okay... I guess that's not their welcoming party." - Finn commented nervously.

"Really? I thought that was a lot warmer than what I was expecting." - Stork said, which caused everyone else to look at him with creeped out and unimpressed expressions.

"Hey, Stork, why don't you try out your new tech specialist stuff you learned?" - Junko suggested.

"Right... I'm the only one here who can do anything about this." - the merb mumbled as he walked towards a small hatch near the wall.

The machine noticed that and immediately shot a blast from its particle gun at him. The carrier pilot screamed as he jumped to avoid the shot. Once it collided with the ground, a hole was created in the area of the blast. Stork stared at it in fear, his eye twitching frantically.

"Stork, look out!" - Piper warned him.

More shots came towards him and he ran away towards an adjacent wall. He glued to it as the bolts of energy flew at him. He closed his eyes, bracing himself for dear life. But then he realized nothing was happening to him. He opened one eye and looked around. Once he saw what had just happened he jumped away from the wall and observed as it had his exact shape, since the rest of it had been dematerialized by the blasts.

"Well, that was unexpected. This gate's aim needs to be calibrated." - he commented.

"Good thing Finn didn't get to do that this time." - the crystal mage said rolling her eyes, referring to when he had improved the aim of a Cyclonian cannon from Snipe's battleship.

"Hey! At least its aim was perfect!" - the sharpshooter retorted - "And I just couldn't stand such bad calibrating from that guy."

"Our enemy being unable to calibrate should've been a _good_ thing, Finn." - Aerrow reprehended him as Radarr shook his head disapprovingly at the wingman - "Didn't you think _we_ were the ones who were supposed to have an edge? Not _them_?"

The blonde thought about that for a brief moment.

"Yeah, guess you're right. We should be the best of all anyway." - he shrugged.

Their talk was interrupted when the machine shot a few times at Finn. He ducked to dodge the blasts. Piper quickly intervened by creating a big force field around all of them. The shots collided with it and got absorbed.

"We better work quickly." - she urged them.

"Stork, go to the hatch now!" - Aerrow ordered.

The merb sprinted towards the hatch, then pulled out a screwdriver and proceeded to open it. He found some wires and a control panel locked up tight to prevent the access. But he noticed something: there was a really small dent in the lock. He narrowed his eyes. He knew what was going on now. Without wasting any time he began picking the lock.

"How long will this shield last?" - Junko asked.

"Long enough, I hope." - the navigator replied as she put more energy into the force field - "This gate is quite persistent, I can't hold on forever."

The machine noticed that several small shots wouldn't be enough to break that barrier, so it pulled back all of its guns and then opened a bigger hatch with a very big canon. It shot against the shield. The collision actually shook the ground and everyone's eyes widened in surprise. Piper grunted from the intense energy and the force of the impact, since she could feel the damaged force field as it flickered.

"Now I'm starting to get a little worried." - Kaya commented.

The door shot once again, causing the shield to flicker even more. Piper breathed heavily, trying to keep the barrier up, but the blasts were way too strong. They were at least twice stronger than all Cyclonian cannons of the ship with the best firepower shooting combined.

"Guys... I don't think the shield'll resist for too long. A few more shots and it'll be destroyed." - the crystal mage said as another shot made the ground tremble again.

"Uh... Stork? Can you go any faster?" - the blonde boy urged the merb.

But he seemed not to have listened. He was completely focused in the control panel. One more blast collided with the shield. It flickered a lot.

"It's about to be destroyed!" - the girl warned.

"Stork! Faster!" - the wallop urged even more.

At last, another impact against the shield destroyed it. As it disappeared, Piper fell to her knees, tired from using so much of her energy. Kaya rushed to her to check if she was okay. As one more blast came towards them, Aerrow quickly reacted: he absorbed some energy from his swords and dashed in front of them. He used the crystal energy he had stored around his body in the form of an armor to neutralize the blast. Once all the energy dissipated, he landed on his feet right in front of the girls.

"Alright! That's my boy! You're a fast learner." - the Grandmaster complimented him - "We should get to the advanced counter energy attacks training right away. I'll ask Ulok some material for it. You'll be unbeatable when we're done!"

"Really? You think so?" - the leader asked.

The training Kaya was talking about would be to help him fend off against a crystal mage. He still remembered how Cyclonis had easily nullified his Lightning Claw move without even flinching. And also how incredible were the attacks Piper had unleashed against the Cyclonians. He'd have a hard time believing he'd ever get to their level now...

"Of course! Hah, that Master Cyclonis won't stand a chance against you. Trust me." - she said confidently.

"Wow!" - he said in awe, but then he felt embarrassed by his own reaction and quickly tried to act casual - "Uh... I mean... That's really something."

Well, if she was saying one of the most powerful crystal mages ever wouldn't be able to defeat him, then that advanced training was certainly going to be something really good for him. He just couldn't wait! He'd be able to defend himself against the magic of the crystals. And he had seen through Piper and Cyclonis herself how powerful crystal mastery was. The two of them were a lot stronger than any sky knight he had ever met. Knowing that now, as a sky knight himself, he would keep up with them was something actually delightful. He had to admit he was starting to feel uneasy about not being powerful enough to defeat Cyclonis and also about being left behind by the two girls. But those news he just got from Kaya lightened up his spirit.

His joy suddenly disappeared as the cannon aimed at them and charged another shot. The boy wouldn't have enough time to perform his sky knight move again! He braced for impact when something unexpected happened: Mr. Softy jumped from Junko's shoulder and landed in front of them.

"Mr. Softy! What are you doing?" - the wallop shouted.

The caterpillar leaped again and began spitting a lot of silk at the cannon. He managed to completely obstruct the barrel of the huge gun. The gate tried to shoot, but the blast collided with the very resistant silk, which caused the cannon to explode. Everyone, except Stork who was too focused on the control panel, looked at that with wide eyes, then they exchanged glances and smiled. They all cheered. Their new mascot was amazing!

"Haha, you're really something else, Mr. Softy!" - Piper said.

"Yeah. I gotta say there's more to you than meets the eye." - Aerrow commented as he petted the little insect.

He smiled at them and appreciated the recognition. Aww, chucks. He just wanted to help his new friends. Stork finally was able to override the gate's A.I. and opened the door.

"There, that should do it." - he said, but then he noticed everyone giving a lot of attention to Mr. Softy out of nowhere - "Did I miss something?" - he asked as he walked towards them.

Kaya and Radarr stared at each other knowingly, the girl giggling and the animal chirping. Too bad he didn't get to see how cool was their new mascot!

Everyone went through the gate. As they stepped inside the secluded area, all they saw was a wide road and many tall buildings. The doors were all closed and the windows were shut. It was impossible to see whatever was going on inside those facilities.

"Stork? Did you figure out what happened to my records?" - the Grandmaster asked him.

"Someone had invaded the gate's circuitry too. I saw a dent on the lock of the control panel." - he told her.

"Do you know who did that?" - she questioned again.

"It could only have been the Doctor. He's good, but I know more about hacking than him." - he explained - "I identified his admin access in the codes he input here. He encrypted the information, but I still managed to track his ID down."

"Oh, you're a prodigy in the technology field, Stork." - she said - "But that only confirms the rumors that Dr. Sins's not who I had thought he was..."

"We shouldn't make conclusions yet. He could've done that to protect you from something." - Piper said - "We still don't know for sure what he's been doing recently."

"Maybe..." - Kaya wasn't certain about what to believe in anymore, but she appreciated the others' concern.

"We should scan the area for clues before anyone else notices we've invaded this place." - the sky knight said.

"You're right." - the little girl agreed - "Hont might cover us for a while, but he can't prevent the people in here from coming after us. And you definitely won't like it if they find us."

Finn, Junko, Radarr and Stork cringed at that, the latter's eye twitching.

"C'mon, let's move." - Aerrow ordered as everyone ran by the large street.

* * *

After a while walking they all got to a quite shady area. It seemed empty from a first look, but after paying attention, they could see there were some people lurking in the shadows. The place was a little bit way too open for their liking. It made them feel vulnerable. Suddenly, someone approached them.

"Oh, nice specimens you have there." - a man completely covered in a black robe commented as he stared at Radarr and Mr. Softy - "Are you interested in selling them to me for... Research purposes?" - he asked with a sinister voice.

The co-pilot chirped scared as he hid behind Aerrow's leg, then he growled at the man. Mr. Softy cowered behind Junko's shoulder.

"That's out of the question!" - the sky knight said harshly.

But then he saw Kaya placing her arm in front of him so he'd not throw himself at the man.

"I have an offer." - she said as she knelt on the ground - "Radarr, could you please give me one little hair of your fur?" - she asked him, and he nodded unsure, but pulled one hair out and gave it to her - "This is enough DNA for an interesting test. This little guy here is completely immune to the beasts from the forbidden lands, it's been proven in combat against the Hooded Shadows."

The man's eyes widened.

"This thing? Seriously?" - he reached his hand out to grab the fur.

But Kaya moved her arm away from him.

"I'm not done yet, I said I had an offer, didn't I?" - she proved she'd not be fooled - "If you tell me the whereabouts of Dr. Sins, I'll give you this fur."

"Only one little hair? You think that's enough for a scientific research?" - he said to her in disbelief.

"You can clone this. C'mon, that shouldn't be hard for a scientist of your grade." - she nearly taunted him - "But if you won't take it I can always offer it to another scientist."

Everyone noticed how suddenly some glowing eyes appeared everywhere among the shadows. There were lots of people listening to that. The man looked around frantically.

"Looks like you have some competition." - the little girl smirked - "Going once, going twice..."

The man stared at her annoyed.

"Fine. Here..." - he said as he pulled out a small piece of paper - "He keeps coming and going from that place. I don't know what's his business here, but it must be something big if he has to go out of here so often for more material."

"So he's been coming and going freely?" - she asked a bit skeptical.

"Yeah, but there's a rumor his entrance wasn't granted." - the man said as he took the fur from her and gave her the piece of paper - "He managed to find a way in... Under the covers." - he put a hand near his mouth as if he were trying to conceal what he was telling to her - "So, technically, he's not even allowed to be here. But who cares? We have other things to worry about than bothering with why he's here."

"So there's a person about 700 years old walking around and none of you felt even remotely interested in how in the world he lived for that long?" - the girl said in disbelief.

"Honestly, immortality isn't that big an achievement. It's actually a lot easier than you think. There are quite a few ways to achieve it, other than the Infinity Stone." - the man said unimpressed - "You just need guts to do some pretty twisted experiments to get there."

"Guess that only confirms my hunch. But we still have to see the real thing." - Stork commented - "I suggest being prepared for shocking news though."

"Can you get any creepier?" - Finn crossed his arms.

For one moment, Kaya actually liked that the sharpshooter cut off the merb. That talk was starting to make her feel bad. She couldn't help but worry. For some reason she had a feeling that a dark twist was about to happen in her life. That was an awful sensation. And to make things worse, the more they looked into what was going on, the more everything seemed to be pointing at that direction. Sometimes she felt like giving up on that search just so she'd not have to find out something bad like that.

"Kaya, is something wrong? You went so quiet all of a sudden." - Junko asked.

"Oh, no. I was just thinking. Don't worry." - she assured him - "Well, guess we should keep going then. And... Hm... Check out that place. It seems like some kind of secret place only VIPs can come in." - she commented as she read the paper.

It said: The Lounge.

"And you're right. Good luck getting inside." - the man said - "I can't remember the last time someone was considered important enough to go there. The VIPs are so influential they can even ask to have no information about them spread around. The only reason I know the Doctor is there is because he dropped a card."

"A card?" - the girl asked.

"I found it by the door of that place." - he told her as he handed it to her - "The guards nearly ripped me to pieces when I got closer just to grab it."

The card looked like a normal card from any deck, it had a fancy cover, but where there should be the symbol of which card it was, there was a exceptionally well drawn scorpion instead. Kaya frowned a little bit angry.

"It's a scorpion." - Piper said.

"That's because of his astral sign, Scorpio." - the Grandmaster told her - "It definitely is him."

"Then let's go. We need to find him before he figures out he's being tracked down." - Aerrow said.

"I'm sure he must be aware by now." - the little girl remarked - "He probably even knows I'm coming, since he took his time to remove my records. He doesn't want me to find him. But... We'll go after him. I need to look at him in the eyes and hear him tell me why he's doing this. And then..." - she sighed - "I don't even know what I'll do."

"We'll figure something out." - the navigator put a hand on her shoulder.

"Right. Let's do it!" - the girl nodded and they all ran along the road.

* * *

They managed to get to the entrance of the area. It was a very big facility, the walls were black and there was a small neon sign in red light saying the name of the place. There were two very bulky guards on each side of the gate. They wore some strange helmets that covered their eyes. The gate looked even more reinforced than the one to the secluded area.

"Those guys look like they're having a bad day." - Junko commented at how grumpy they were.

"I'd have a face like that too if I had to stand guard in this depressing place all day long." - Finn said.

"I wouldn't mind that. At least it's quiet in here." - Stork spoke.

"We probably should go talk to them." - Piper suggested.

They all walked towards the door. The two guards stared blankly at them. Well, if you could consider those expressions as blank faces, that is. From the looks on their faces, they seemed like they were holding their urge to rip someone's beating heart out of their chests.

"Do you think we should try your badge again?" - Aerrow asked Kaya.

"It didn't work on the other gate, so I doubt it will in this one. But, well, here goes nothing." - she said as she went closer to the guards - "Excuse me. I'm Kaya, the Grandmaster. I'd like to request an entrance to The Lounge."

A red light flashed on the visors in the guards' eyes.

"Request denied. Reason: no VIP access. Remove yourselves out of the entrance area at this instant." - they said in unison as one of them pushed Finn on the ground, since he was way too close to them.

"Hey! What's the deal?!" - he shouted at them - "Why do you have to push people around and stand there all day with those grouchy faces?"

The two guards exchanged glances.

"These are our normal faces." - they said - "Now, leave the entrance area. You're disturbing our VIP clients."

"And you clearly don't get who I am, do you?" - he challenged them - "I'm the Finnster! Nobody's more VIP than me!"

The guards just stared unimpressed at him. They didn't even blink.

"Leave the entrance area, that will be the last time we'll warn you." - they said as they went back to watching over the place.

"Oh, yeah? Make me!" - he taunted them, causing the group to stare at him with wide eyes.

What was he doing?! Without a second of hesitation the guards punched him at the same time, sending him flying at Junko. The force of the impact actually dragged the wallop along and they fell a few feet behind the others, as they leaped out of the way so they'd not be pushed too.

"Ugh... Finn, why did you...?" - the flight engineer was about to question his recklessness when the blonde reached a hand up.

"Okay, I'll take that as a minor misunderstanding." - he said - "You probably don't know me because you never leave this place. It's like living under a rock."

The guards became irritated and impatient. Was that boy annoying! He was so obnoxious!

"Uh... Sorry. Don't mind him." - Piper said nervously - "We're leaving right away."

As she turned to leave, the guards scanned her, then they suddenly blinked.

"Wait!" - they said, making her turn back to them - "What's your proficiency?"

"My proficiency? You mean, my job?" - she asked, to which they nodded - "Hm... Well, I'm the first officer, navigator, tactician and crystal mage."

"Crystal mage?" - they said in thought - "That perk can actually grant you a visitant entrance. Some of the researchers in the VIP area were really interested in crystals and they've been looking for a specialist to discuss some things."

"Really? But, can the others come as well? I'm not going inside without them." - she said.

"We'll generate a visitant pass for all of you." - they told her as they scanned the group - "You'll have limited access, though." - their visors became green, which meant the group was able to go to the VIP area.

Kaya smiled widely.

"Ah, I knew you were awesome, Piper!" - she said - "You've got even more privileges than I do!"

The navigator giggled sheepishly.

"I-I guess so. Hm, maybe that was just luck." - she shrugged shyly.

"Don't be so modest. You're our Lady Luck!" - the Grandmaster complimented her.

"I can actually vouch for that, you know." - Aerrow walked beside the first officer and grinned knowingly.

He hinted at the day she had pretended to leave the team, but then she came back to the rescue and actually saved them all. She blinked. So he remembered that, huh? Radarr gave her a thumbs up, showing he remembered that too. She smiled at them. They did acknowledge she was an important member of the group. They were growing more mature as the time passed, and that made her proud of them.

"Okay then. We should get going." - she said.

They all entered the VIP area. They were about to discover all the mysteries secretly hidden in that place.

 


	24. Episode 58 - Part 3

**Episode 58 - Clueless**

**Part 3 - Stranger Danger**

The Storm Hawks and Kaya entered the VIP area. The first thing they saw there was what seemed to be some kind of fancy bar. The walls were dark and some colorful small lamps were the only source of light. There were quite a few people in there, all sitting on tables, not paying attention to anything around them. There they also saw someone they had met earlier: elite detective Fire.

She was interrogating someone near the bar counter. The person soon left, after being dismissed by the detective. She rested her head on her hand as she studied her notes carefully.

"One blue flame liqueur, please." - she asked the barman, then she sighed - "So far the progress's really slow here."

The others approached her.

"Detective Fire." - Aerrow greeted.

"Oh, it's you guys." - she smiled - "I didn't know you had VIP access."

"Piper here's a crystal mage." - Kaya told her - "With her on the team we'll have free pass anywhere."

"That's nice. I'm allowed to come here only because I'm an elite detective, so I can bend some rules." - she said.

"How's your investigation going?" - the navigator asked.

"Pretty bad I gotta say. It's being a pain. I've been interrogating people all day long and got no good information from them." - she explained - "This guy's squishier than slime worms. I visited five locations where he's been sighted, but I didn't get close to him yet."

"Five locations... Inside the VIP area?" - the Grandmaster asked.

"Yes. This place's bigger than you'd think." - the woman said - "The only lead I got was another one of the cards he keeps leaving behind right in the middle of the main square, so that doesn't really help me track his exact position." - she pulled the scorpion card out and tossed it on the table.

The little girl stared at it, then she looked around, observing the place.

"I think I know where he might be." - she suggested - "At least... I have a few hunches."

"I'm all ears here. I'll even go there with you." - the detective said - "I'm not making that much progress by myself, so I'll gladly accept any help. Still, we should ask around on the way regardless."

Kaya nodded. Even if she had a few intuitions, Fire was right about confirming her hunches while they headed to those places. They all followed her towards wherever they'd most likely find the doctor. But as soon as they got to the entrance of the bar, someone stopped them.

"You're definitely not from here." - the person commented - "And yet you've been allowed to enter the VIP area. You must be really important people. Why was your pass granted?"

Before any of them could respond, Fire stepped in front of them.

"I'm an elite detective, and they're with me. That's reason enough to let them in." - she crossed her arms.

Somebody was poking their nose where they shouldn't. The man was wearing a white stylish hat that covered his face. But his hands could tell he wasn't human, since he had claws for fingers. He wore a white tuxedo and shoes, and a light gray social shirt underneath with a black tie. He had a cigar on his mouth. He calmly pulled the cigar out of his mouth and blew some smoke in the air.

"Ms. Detective, I'm not easily fooled. I noticed you've been around long before they came in. And I know not even the Grandmaster has a free pass in here." - he guessed accurately, which made the others blink surprised - "So which one of you was the big exception?" - he glanced at the Storm Hawks, without revealing his face.

"It was me." - Piper gestured to herself - "I-I'm a crystal mage."

There was no point in hiding anything from that guy, so she told him who she was right away. He lifted his head, allowing them to see his face. His head seemed to be... Pure nothing, hollow. The only thing they could see were his glowing white eyes.

"Hm... A crystal mage. That's a rare talent these days." - he commented - "Why don't you sit here with me for a moment? Let's talk a little while your friends go on with their investigation."

"W-What? I... I'm sorry but I can't, I really should go with them." - she told him.

"Listen..." - he leaned closer to them, so he could whisper - "There are a lot of people in here that are interested in your skills. And we all should know that you won't like their... Personalities."

He was hinting at the fact most of the scientists there were the ones who did unethical things.

"She'll be fine with us." - Kaya said.

"I'd not be that confident, Ms. Grandmaster." - he said - "Since she's being accompanied by you and an elite detective, that'll attract much more attention. And eventually you'll be overwhelmed."

"Are you saying those people would try to... Force Piper to join them?" - Aerrow asked.

"Not even join them, she'd just be a test subject." - the man told him - "I'm offering to help you prevent that from happening."

"And why'd you do that?" - the sky knight didn't trust him - "When you could be doing the same as them?"

"I'm not one of them. They're not even comparable to me." - the man said - "I'm the most influential person you'll find here. I can bend even more rules than Ms. Detective there. Nobody here would dare defy me, knowing what I'm able to do. I can guarantee your friend'll be safe with me. Besides, I swear I won't do anything to her, I just want to talk."

The boy stared at her, to see what she thought about that. She looked at him a little unsure, but nodded.

"Well, if this will avoid trouble for them, I'll stay here." - she said.

"I think one of us should stay too, just in case." - the leader suggested.

"That won't be necessary. I just told you I can keep her completely safe. Don't you trust me?" - the man asked - "Ms. Grandmaster, Ms. Detective, use your abilities and tell them if I'm being honest." - he said very calmly.

The two looked at him, studying him. Kaya read his aura, while Fire analyzed his manners.

"He... Is telling the truth." - the little girl noticed.

"Yes. I second that. He's definitely not lying." - the woman commented.

"Then I'm gonna stay." - the navigator said as she sat in front of the man.

She frowned. She didn't really like having to stay behind, but if it was necessary, she'd go through with that. The sky knight noticed her upset mood, so he knelt near her seat.

"We'll come pick you up soon. I promise." - the leader said to her.

"I know." - she smiled weakly - "Don't worry about me, I'll be okay. Focus on the mission." - she put a hand on his shoulder.

He nodded determined, then stood up to address the others.

"C'mon, let's go." - he told the group.

They all sprinted out of the bar, heading to the nearest place where they could find some clues. Piper watched them go, then she turned to the man.

"Are you served?" - he asked as he picked up a pack of cigars.

"Hm, no... I... Don't smoke..." - she declined.

She was a young girl... Why in the world would she think of smoking?!

"What about a fancy drink?" - he suggested.

"I think I'm fine for now." - she said.

He wasn't really doing anything against her, but she just couldn't shake the sensation of being in the presence of someone kinda... Creepy. He didn't have a face for Atmos's sake! He noticed her behavior.

"You know, not everyone that looks shady _is_ shady." - he told her.

He managed to sense her hesitation towards him. She felt a little caught off guard by that. That guy was extremely observant, he could pick the slightest reaction from her.

"I don't think you're shady. You're just mysterious." - she replied - "I told you who I am. So I'd feel better if you told me about yourself too."

"Fair point, young lady. Very well." - he closed his eyes - "What do you want to know about me?"

"Well, you could start by telling me your name." - she said.

"My name is very long and hard to pronounce, so I'll just give you my nickname: Kyx." - he told her - "I'm pleased to meet a crystal mage like you."

"Uh, thanks. I'm Piper." - she said a little hesitant - "So... Kyx... What do you do here?"

"My business in the Praetora province? Hehe, well, I own this place." - he shrugged casually, as if that was no big deal.

"Y-You own this place?" - the girl was quite surprised - "But... I didn't think a free province like this would... Belong to someone."

"It's not a free area. The researchers that live here have to pay a rent. In turn, I give them complete creative and scientific freedom, something they'd never find in the reigns they come from." - he explained - "They can do anything as long as they don't try to cross me."

"What happens if they do?" - she asked.

"They'll have to face me. And nobody that's faced me came back to tell the story." - he took a sip of the glass that was on the table - "As you've probably noticed, I'm... Well, hollow." - he pulled his hat out for a second and only his eyes floated in thin air - "And that's why nobody ever comes back. I'm like... A walking black hole, if you say."

"So... Is this why you cover yourself like that? I can see those claws aren't real." - Piper commented.

"Precisely. If I touch something directly, I'll just pull it inside like a vacuum cleaner. The clothes I wear are specially made to prevent that from happening." - he explained - "But you don't have to worry about being at risk by sitting near me. I can control myself, so you'll be fine."

"Oh, I wasn't scared. I'm actually more comfortable now that I know something about you." - she told him - "And I can see you're being serious with me."

"Hehehe, didn't I say we'd just talk? See? I just wanted to chat, really." - he said - "And you looked like the kind of people I enjoy having long conversations with. You'll see, when your friends arrive to pick you up, we'll have bonded quite well. And you won't have even noticed the time flying by."

She smiled. That Kyx guy wasn't bad at all! He was an interesting man. And he had a certain elegance in his manners. Plus, he was willing to share his knowledge with her. Maybe she could learn something useful for the squadron from him.

* * *

The group ran by the street until they arrived at the main square. That place was quite big with some benches, a tree near the middle of the square and smaller roads leading to lots of other locations all around the area.

"This is where you found the card, right?" - Junko asked.

"Yes." - Fire nodded - "It was lying exactly in the middle of the square. Because of that I couldn't figure out if the card was hinting at any specific place."

"How come?" - Finn didn't understand.

"For example, if the card had landed closer to that road over there, it'd mean one of the two things: the Dr did go there or he went in the exact opposite direction." - she explained as she pointed at the smaller street she was referring to.

"Ah, I see. It could be true that he went that way. But it could be a bait." - Stork put a hand on his chin - "Just one question... Why do you say he'd have gone in the _exact opposite_ direction?"

"Because that's the most obvious bait." - she said as she put her hands on her hips - "People normally investigate the most obvious things last, so the criminal might choose that option to buy him more time." - she told him.

"That makes sense. You do think ahead of everyone, detective." - Kaya commented - "No wonder you've become elite class."

"I try." - the woman smiled - "But now we have a bigger challenge: what does it mean when the clue is left right in the middle of the way?"

They all thought for a moment. That was quite the charade. The card was in the middle of that mess of roads. What could that mean?

"See? This is why I hate puzzles. They're always way too hard." - Finn commented.

"You didn't seem like you hated them when you got that annoying shapeshifting puzzle." - Stork pointed out.

"Uh, that one was an exception." - the boy said - "And I almost mastered it. I was so close! But it just vanished. I still don't know what happened to it."

"Good thing Stork took ca..." - Junko was about to say when Radarr immediately leaped on his shoulder and pressed his paw against his mouth.

Phew! He almost told him Stork had melted that puzzle for good along with the Suit of Untold Vengeance! Really, it was better if Finn never found out about that, otherwise, if one day he ever gets to have an even more annoying toy than that thing, he'd hide it so the others wouldn't be able to get rid of it! Some things are definitely better left in the dark.

"Hm... According to your logic of it meaning one of two things..." - Aerrow began, smoothly changing the subject - "He went back the way he came from or... He went right here. Maybe underground?"

Fire blinked. What a theory!

"That's really smart thinking! I hadn't considered the possibility of him going underground yet." - she said - "You sure you don't have a part-time job as a detective, boy?"

"H-Huh? Ah, no! I'm only a sky knight." - he put his hands in front of himself dismissively.

Him an investigator? Nah, that wasn't for him. Not that it was a job he couldn't handle, no. Neither was it too easy for him. In fact, there was nothing wrong with that position, at least, nothing that bad.

"What? Being a detective isn't a boring job. It's filled with action. You like action, don't you?" - she asked.

"Well, yeah, but..." - he didn't really know how to put it.

He didn't have anything against being a detective, he just... Preferred to stay a sky knight and the leader of the Storm Hawks. And the reason? He'd spend all day listing why he wanted to stay like that.

"I see, you like where you are right now." - she crossed her arms - "You're a leader and you have a great team. And they're your best pals in the world. If I were in your position I'd not trade that for a lone wolf kind of job like this either."

He smiled. She understood that just as well as he did. Having a squadron was like being part of a family. Whenever something bad happened, the family can stand together through the hard times. Anything was better when you do that with your friends. And he definitely had an aversion of being alone, he already had his fair share of loneliness for years a long time ago. He never wanted to have to go through that again.

"Well, out of those two options, which one is more likely?" - Kaya asked, bringing their attention back to their investigation.

"Well, he doesn't look like he's wandering around, so he must've gone underground. But how do we follow him?" - the detective put a hand on her chin.

"Maybe he used some secret passage?" - the wallop shrugged.

"Where could a secret passage possibly be in here?" - the sharpshooter asked as he leaned against a light pole.

When he did that, the pole actually leaned along, like a lever, causing him to fall on the ground. Everyone felt the place shaking a little, then a door opened on the floor, revealing a stairway leading underground. The group blinked, and Aerrow stared at Finn.

"Is it just me or you've been stumbling on clues lately?" - he commented.

"Guess I'm a magnet for more things than I thought." - the blonde said.

Yeah, he did attract disasters, but it seemed he also attracted clues. Maybe he had found a wave of good luck when he got to the Far Side. Some good news for a change. Radarr sniffed the air a bit and confirmed the Doctor's aura could be sensed. He had been to that passage.

"Did you pick his aura?" - the Grandmaster asked.

He nodded. But he didn't look very excited. He tried sniffing the air again. And he noticed the aura was... Strange. It seemed to be mixed with something else entirely. It was like... The Doctor was emanating more than one aura at once! But... Was that even possible? And what did that mean?

"Radarr, lead the way. Let's find out what's going on." - the sky knight said.

The co-pilot sprinted ahead and everyone ran after him. They all went down the stairs and into the secret passage.

* * *

The group ran by a dark narrow corridor. It almost looked like a mix of sewers and some kind of dungeon corridor. They could hear the sound of rats lurking in the shadows and there were tons of spider webs on the corners of the walls with the ground and the ceiling.

"This place makes Ulok's office seem clean and tidy in comparison." - Kaya said.

"You mean the information broker?" - Fire asked.

"Yep. He's an old friend who owes me a favor or two." - she told her.

"I wish I had an information broker at my disposal. I'd have finished my investigation already." - the detective said.

"When this is over, come with us to his office. I'll get him to give you some useful data for your cases." - the Grandmaster offered.

"Thanks, that'll be a big help." - the woman said.

They ran some more until they got to a place that was absolutely devoid of light. It was pitch black beyond that part of the corridor.

"How come that's even possible? Light doesn't just... Stop." - Aerrow commented.

"The light didn't stop, there's something preventing it from going further." - Stork pointed out.

"What? I can't see anything." - Junko squinted his eyes, then he stretched his arm in front of himself into the dark area - "I can't feel anything either."

"Maybe a spectral barrier? I know it can block light from coming in and out." - the little girl suggested.

"Well, let's find out." - the sky knight said as he walked a few steps towards the area devoid of light.

"W-Wait, you're gonna step in there just like that?" - Finn asked in disbelief.

"Uh... Yeah?" - the leader shrugged - "What other choice we got?"

"Maybe not wandering into the pitch black without checking what's there first?" - the sharpshooter said.

Aerrow sighed.

"You're not afraid of the dark, are you?" - he asked.

"Of course not!" - the blonde quickly denied - "But we can't see anything at all. What if the very first thing in there is a very big hole and we fall right into it?"

"He has a point. Who knows what could be waiting for us?" - Stork pondered - "There could be several insane scientists hiding in there and when we step inside, they'll knock us all out, replace our organs with bombs, mind controlling and tracking devices, then send us on an unending path of random destruction. And did I say that's the best case scenario?"

The others stared at him unimpressed, while Fire blinked creeped out. That guy had a way of always pointing out such depressingly bad outcomes. The most incredible was that it wasn't even something to be mad about, that was actually impressive. He could definitely predict the worst, and at least that would make the others prepared for it. Even thought they normally just dismissed what he said as his paranoia, deep down they knew there was a chance of something awful happening.

Mr. Softy jumped in front of them and crawled towards the dark area. He shoved his head beyond the pitch black barrier then spat on the ground a little. He wriggled his bun and turned to the others, smiling happily. They exchanged glances and walked near him. They poked their heads inside the area devoid of light and saw what the little guy had done.

"He's using his glowing saliva to mark the ground, so we can predict what's ahead of us." - Kaya commented.

"This caterpillar is certainly a lot smarter than it looks." - Fire said as she knelt near him - "What an ingenious little thing you are!" - she petted him.

"Second time you're saving our lives today, Mr. Softy." - Aerrow told him - "Not bad at all for our new mascot."

Radarr nodded in agreement. Their new animal friend knew quite a few really useful tricks. The co-pilot walked near him, then he proceeded to sniff the air again, looking for the Doctor's aura. He chirped, then pointed ahead of them.

"Cool, we're still on his track." - Junko said.

"Alright, let's move." - the sky knight lit up his blades to illuminate their surroundings - "And stay close, there's not much light, so it's easy to get lost."

They kept walking, slowly and carefully, with Mr. Softy helping them see the ground way ahead of them so they'd know what was coming.

* * *

Meanwhile, Piper just sat on the table of the fancy bar with Kyx. They were talking about the Praetora province.

"How are the people from here? And what do they search?" - she asked.

"Well, they're your average people you find anywhere. There's nothing really special about them. As for what they're looking for..." - the man took a sip of the glass on the table - "The most common researches are immortality, godhood and how to bend time and space."

"Kind of narrow-minded..." - the girl commented - "And why bend time _and_ space?"

"One thing about what you'd call 'time traveling' is that it's not only a matter of time, but of space too." - he told her - "That's why they're studying warp crystals. And why they'd love the help of a crystal mage."

"Hm, that's true, because you'd not only travel to another time, but to another space as well." - the navigator said - "And... Now that you said it, teleporting has to do with time too. Because you travel somewhere else _when_ you weren't supposed to be there."

"Exactly. I'm pretty sure a skilled crystal mage'd be able to time travel using a warp crystal, since they necessarily bend space and time." - he said to her - "The scientists think that's a hidden ability from those crystals, and they want to watch some mages using them to figure out how to trigger it."

"That's where their interest in crystal mastery comes from... So they can fulfill their own purposes." - she said in thought - "Kyx... Isn't it tiresome to keep the order in here?"

"Hm? What do you mean?" - he didn't get what was she suddenly going on about.

"The people from here." - she spoke, gesturing to the rest of the bar - "They're doing researches of all kinds. And even unethical experiments. Don't you have to... Well... Establish a limit?"

"I see... You're probably going to think I'm an awful person now, but the thing is... I simply can't make up a limit." - he told her - "The scientists from here pay me a rent and in turn I give them some sort of protection and freedom to do whatever they need to achieve their goals, as long as they don't cross me."

"But... What about the bad things they could be doing? What if they're causing a lot of trouble for other people?" - she questioned him.

"Not all of them work only for themselves. There are quite a few who have noble goals." - the man explained - "Even though they're not righteous, in the end they're trying to do something good."

"You can't let them get away with it just because they claim to be doing something for the greater good." - Piper retorted - "The end does not justify the means."

"I beg to differ. Sometimes it does." - he responded.

"No, it doesn't. There's no excuse for evil doing." - she said firmly - "And you should make a stand against that."

"Ms. Piper, I'm not a ruler. I'm a... Business man." - he gestured to himself - "I won't just impose something out of nowhere. This province is a big investment, and I have to take care of it like what it is: an investment. If I suddenly start making rules, I might lose clients and money. Then this place'll go back to what it was: an empty ruined city."

"That's... So selfish..." - she commented.

"I understand your opinion on this. But you have to see things how they really are." - he told her - "The world is an unfair place. It's a huge market where trading is all that matters. If you want something, you need to lose something else of equal value at the same time."

Piper stared at the table, reflecting about what he said. He had a valid point... But still... That couldn't be how the world worked. There were selfless people, her team was an example of that... Well, almost.

"This might be true for most... But I know not everyone's like that." - she said - "My squadron... They're something else. We help others and ask nothing in return."

"But you still gain something from that, don't you?" - he asked - "The value isn't solely on money, it can be something you can't buy, but you can earn. Like... Friendship."

"Maybe, but we don't help those in need expecting them to be our friends later." - she told him - "I've saved an enemy before for an instance... Twice."

She was hinting at the fact she saved a Cyclonian from a parachute failure. Turns out that Cyclonian was Lynn in the end, but at first, it was just an enemy. And also at when the squadron helped bring the Dark Ace back to his senses after he got completely mind controlled by the Medulla Crystal. He definitely didn't become their friend after that.

"Then why do it?" - the man asked bluntly.

"Because no matter how evil and despicable the person might be, nobody deserves to suffer." - she said - "Bringing criminals to justice is important, but there's no excuse to torture them for what they did. That won't make them any better people, it'll only fill them with rage and they'll seek revenge. Why create a world like that?"

Kyx blinked.

"You're a wise young lady, Ms. Piper." - he complimented her as he smiled - "It's being a pleasure talking to you." - he took another sip of his glass - "Please, allow me to order something for you." - he lifted his gloved hand - "Waiter, bring me the menu!" - then he turned to her - "Choose anything you wish."

A robotic waiter came to the table and left a pair of books, the menu.

"Thank you." - she said as she read the menu - "Hm... I'm kind of unfamiliar with the food from the Far Side. I only know a few things from the menu I read in a restaurant from Warmya Reign."

"Oh, so you're not from here." - he realized - "Don't worry, though, I know what'd be harmful for a human. I recommend choosing from these options here." - he pointed at some pages of the menu.

"Ah, thanks. I think I'll choose this." - she showed him the meal.

"Excellent taste. That just happens to be one of my favorite meals from here. I'll order another one for me as well." - he told her as he signaled to the robot waiter so it'd fetch their food.

"I guess great minds think alike." - she commented.

"Oh, that's the most absolute truth there is." - he agreed - "Now, I see you've come from outside. I'd really like to hear what it's like beyond the Great Walls."

"The rest of the Atmos is really big. But the Far Side is a really surprising place too." - she said.

"Do tell me about the unknowns of the Atmos." - he said interested.

"There's so much to talk about, I don't even know where to begin." - she was quite excited herself - "Let's see..."

She thought for a moment. Maybe she should start by commenting how the world was divided in terras. Yeah, that was most likely the best way to begin that new topic. She proceeded to speak about the many mountain-top kingdoms scattered all over the Atmos. And how each one of them was protected by a sky knight squadron. That was going to be one long conversation. The guys would probably arrive before she was even finished!

* * *

The group walked by the seemingly empty and dark corridor. Mr. Softy kept spitting on the ground to check for holes or any kind of obstacle that someone could trip over.

"How long is it gonna take to get there? It's freezing in here." - Junko commented.

Everyone blinked. They hadn't noticed the temperature had dropped until he said something!

"Wow, now that you said it, it got pretty cold out of nowhere." - Kaya rubbed her arms with her hands.

"What could be causing this?" - Aerrow asked.

"From what I know, when a place becomes cold all of a sudden it's not a good sign." - Fire said.

"Yes. It normally means all we'll find ahead of us is imminent death." - Stork spoke.

"And why's that?" - Finn questioned unimpressed.

"Because we're going to an area devoid of light and heat. That means there's nothing alive for at least a few miles ahead of us." - the merb explained.

"It doesn't mean we'll find death so close by. It's not like this place is smelling like corpses." - the detective pointed out.

"Hm... You have a point. Unless... When you die your corpse disappears." - he said.

"So it'd just disappear into thin air..." - the woman was skeptical - "No solid evidence, no proof."

"How can there be solid evidence left when something just disappears?" - the sky knight asked.

"There's always something left. Warp/teleportation residual energy or particle remains from the body or whoever got rid of it." - she told him - "Something a detective doesn't lack are clues. There are plenty of them in any investigation, the hard part is making sense out of them. They're like puzzles, charades."

"And by particles you mean atoms. Do you have tools to figure out whether those atoms ever belonged to a dead body?" - the carrier pilot inquired.

"Of course! Why do you think I'm an elite detective?" - she pulled out some kind of hi-tech scanner - "This device can identify absolutely anything. Check this out."

She pointed it to some saliva Mr. Softy had left on the ground. The scanner detected it.

" _Organic residual: slightly acid, sticky, denser than water, bioluminescent._ " - the device said - " _Produced by Gloom Caterpillars, usually found in the former province of the Wonderlands. Scanning for the specimen._ " - the device produced some light and scanned the whole area, then a beam of light narrowed down right on Mr. Softy - " _Specimen found: male, 2 weeks old, first stage of metamorphosis._ "

"Wait, what did it mean by metamorphosis?" - the wallop asked.

"Well, Mr. Softy's a caterpillar, he'll later turn into a butterfly or a moth." - the Grandmaster explained.

"How can he turn into two things?" - Finn questioned.

"We call the first stage of their metamorphosis as caterpillar, but they can be two kinds of caterpillar. We can know whether he'll be a moth or a butterfly when he reaches the second stage." - the little girl told him - "If he turns into a cocoon, he'll be a moth, if he turns into a pupa, he'll be a butterfly." - she used a hologram to show him what could become of Mr. Softy.

"But the second stage looks pretty much the same. How do you even know the difference?" - the sharpshooter asked.

"Why don't you save those questions for when Mr. Softy actually _goes_ through the metamorphosis?" - she said - "It'll be more fun if we keep this a surprise."

"Cool! I can't wait to see what Mr. Softy'll turn into." - the flight engineer smiled.

The little mascot shook his bun, then he turned around to go back to spitting his glory saliva on the ground. However, he ended up hitting something else, since the glowing mark wasn't on the ground but on the "wall". Finn didn't notice that so he kept moving forward and bashed his face against the wall. He leaped backwards from the fright and screamed for a second. Once he was within Aerrow's blades' light range, everyone could see what had happened to him: his hair was completely covered with spider webs and his face had wet dust all over it.

"Ugh, dude, gross!" - he complained as he tried to wipe the webs away from his hair, without much success.

"You do have a knack for stumbling on disasters, no kidding." - Kaya commented, and he mumbled as he tried to pull a web away but it just ripped in half so most of it remained glued to his hair - "I guess I'll just make you a good luck amulet later."

Aerrow walked past them and put his hand on the wall.

"It's... It's a dead end!" - he said as he kept feeling the barrier in front of him.

"So there's a wall in the middle of the way for no apparent reason?" - Stork asked - "Yeah, I had a feeling we'd all end like this. Now another wall will come down behind us and we'll be stuck in here forever."

Just as he said that, a wall did come down behind them, locking them in a tight space. All of the others stared at him with wide eyes. It was like everything he said happened!

"See? It's just a matter of time before..." - he began.

"Okay, not another word." - the sky knight stopped him - "The more we talk the worse things get. Let's just focus on the solution and nothing else for now."

"You're right. This looks like a pattern." - Fire said - "We better not let our thoughts wander off finding a solution."

"Alright, guys. Let's figure out what we can do." - the Grandmaster stimulated.

Everyone just stopped for a while, so they could think of what they could try to get out of that situation.

* * *

In the depths of an unknown place there was a small research facility. The whole area was dark, except for a flickering light coming from one of the windows of the tiny building. Inside it there were several tables and desks, with many glass pots filled with all kinds of things. Several lab tools laid on top of the tables. There was a silhouette on a ladder, adjusting a lamp. The light stopped flickering and was finally constant.

"There, that should do it." - a man's voice said.

He was none other than the doctor that was being pretty much hunted down. He climbed down the ladder and proceeded to work on an experiment that was on the desk right in front of him. Beside whatever he was working on was a flask that was quite familiar: it was the very package Ulok had told the others about! The scientist didn't pay attention to it, though, he was completely focused on the experiment.

He was stitching something. When he was done, he lifted his hand: there were some stitches on one of his fingers. He picked up a nil crystal and used it to heal the scar. That made it look like he hadn't even stitched anything in the first place.

"That should be enough for a while. Soon I'm going to need to look for other replacements." - then he turned to the flask - "Time to see what this thing does."

But before he could do anything, he heard a knock on the door. He glared at it, but didn't answer. Maybe they'd go away if he pretended there was nobody inside. To his annoyance, the knock was repeated. He stood up and went to check who was there. He saw a hooded figure standing in front of the door. Whoever was there knocked once again. He opened a small hatch on the door.

"Speak quickly, I'm really busy right now, I don't have time to waste!" - he said harshly.

"I have something that mind interest you." - a female voice said.

"I have my own research already, now go away!" - he shouted then shut the hatch.

He walked a few steps when he heard another knock on the door. He growled irritated as he stomped his way to the door again, this time, though, he slammed it open.

"I told you I'm not interested!" - he yelled.

"Oh, but you haven't even heard what I have to say yet." - the hooded figure said as a few Night Crawlers appeared beside her and aimed their guns at him.

Her hood opened up in a familiar way: standing in front of the Doctor was none other than Master Cyclonis. He stared at her and her little particular army unimpressed.

"You don't intimidate me." - he crossed his arms - "I have some tricks up my sleeve as well."

He pulled out a whip and in the blink of an eye he used its bladed tip to slash the Night Crawlers' guns off their armor. They blinked at that and glared at him. The young Empress just laughed.

"Impressive. You do have combat skills, the files I've got on you weren't lying." - she showed him a folder that had secret information about him.

"Where did you get this?" - he inquired.

"I stole this from an information broker's office. And replaced it with a fake dossier." - she told him - "I can keep this only between us or I can just give it away to anyone that might find use for it."

"You're trying to blackmail me?" - he asked - "You actually have guts. What do you want?"

She smirked evilly. Whatever she was seeking from him, it definitely meant bad news.

 


	25. Episode 58 - Part 4

  **Episode 58 - Clueless**

**Part 4 - End of the Line**

Master Cyclonis and a few Night Crawlers stood in the lab as the doctor just stared at them.

"I have an offer for you." - she said to him - "A unique opportunity to study something no one has ever had access to."

"What's this so interesting research about?" - the merb asked skeptically.

The young Empress laid some scrolls on a table nearby and let him study them.

"I've read that you're not very fond of crystals but you enjoy anatomy, so I think this will pick your interest." - she told him.

He read the scrolls carefully, taking mental notes of everything. His eyes widened briefly.

"This can't be possible." - he said as he picked up two scrolls and read both at the same time - "How did you even come up with this? And the material is extremely hard to find."

"I have more resources than you think." - she smirked - "I've plenty of materials."

"You look set up already, why do you need my help?" - he inquired.

"I have some plans, but the very first prototype wasn't successful." - she explained - "A few tweaks were needed, so I thought I should hire an expert to get it to work."

"And what would I gain from this?" - he asked bluntly.

"You'd have access to endless resources for your researches, not only mine. You'd be able to command your own squadron of Night Crawlers. And you'd live in a very secluded area where nobody'd be able to track you down." - she told him.

He stared at the ground in thought. He was considering his options. So far the offer seemed to be pretty good, he guessed the "Night Crawlers" were probably the Hooded Shadows, so of course having a squadron of them at his disposal was a great thing. But still, he should think it through first.

* * *

Piper and Kyx were in the bar, just chatting about what the rest of the Atmos was like. The girl was served with quite the meal: there was a fancy meat, an exotic salad, and some appetizers of all kinds. They didn't look like anything she had ever eaten before, but they surely tasted delicious.

"So, you have beautiful terras like Amazonia, Blizzaris, Rex, Flora and some dangerous places too, like the Black Gorge, Terra Deep and The Wastelands." - he summed up a few things she had told him.

"Yes. The Atmos is such a vast world. We still don't know everything about it." - she commented.

"Hehe, no wonder, your Atmos is so much bigger than this land. I've lived here for ages and I don't know everything about the Greatland either. I should be ashamed. I really should travel more." - the man said.

"Do you have time to travel when you have to take care of your business?" - the crystal mage asked.

"Not that much time, I confess." - he lowered his head a little - "And you opened my eyes to things that are more important than just taking care of what I have."

"I'm glad to hear that." - the girl said.

"You know, I _am_ a businessman at heart, but I could start over. A clean start." - Kyx told her - "Maybe, one day, if we get to unite our two worlds, I could start a brand new kind of business, like tourism. People could travel through both worlds. I'd have my way of earning what I need and I'd be giving everyone a chance to see the whole world."

"That's a noble goal. And it might give you a chance to travel like you wanted." - the navigator agreed.

"Yes. But unfortunately I can't simply destroy what was built in here." - he put his gloved hand on his "chin" - "Even though starting this wasn't exactly a good thing to begin with, ruining all the effort put into this isn't how it should end either."

"You have a point. Maybe we could get some help from a law force, like the union detective Fire works for." - Piper suggested - "They could start inspecting the place and establishing some rules because they've been receiving reports of dangerous activities. The scientists who were unable to abide by that would have to leave. And eventually the area'd be free of anyone trying to do something unethical."

"That's a good idea." - he chuckled - "No wonder you're a tactician."

"You know that?" - she asked.

"Yes, you've told your perks to my guards. Anything they hear goes through me." - the man explained to her.

"So you knew who I was and that it was me who was granted the pass here all along." - she concluded - "Why didn't you say anything?"

"Well, you were all so wary of me for recognizing two very known people already, I didn't want to appear even more ominous." - he explained - "But, maybe I should've told you that when we were left alone from the start. I apologize."

Piper just nodded, until she blinked with a new question in her mind.

"Wait, if you know everything your guards do, you must know about Kaya's records being erased from the main gate of the secluded area too." - the first officer assumed.

"I heard the news the first time from you, really. Right before you nearly destroyed my gate." - he told her - "And I've been working on finding out the culprit since then. By the way, how did you even get through?"

"Stork, our carrier pilot, is studying to become a tech specialist." - she said - "He's able to hack into almost anything."

"That's a useful skill." - he commented - "Still, you seem to be the most versatile one out of your squadron. What else did you do?"

"Besides my official perks, I was the cook for most of the time, but Junko sometimes would come up with some... Exotic meals too." - she told him.

"With all those abilities, how come you're not the one in charge?" - he asked.

"I have some leading skills and I'm very responsible, but I'm just not as good as Aerrow in that matter." - the tactician said - "He's a natural leader, he inspires people to follow him so easily... And he's a great person, I've learned a lot from him." - she put a hand in front of her heart, gesturing to herself.

Because of the gesture with her hand, his eyes were drawn to her necklace.

"Is he the one who...?" - he hinted.

She stroke the crystal that always rested by her neck as she smiled.

"That's another long story, for another day." - she said, squinting one of her eyes knowingly at him.

If he had a face he'd have been grinning widely back at her. Did she have many things to tell! And he could sense that one was something more personal, and yet she was willing to share the story with him, though on another occasion.

"I'll wait for this other day. Your little mystery will make me eager to hear your story." - he said to her, then he looked at a clock and a calendar near one of the walls - "Oh, the package I've requested from Ulok must've arrived already. He was supposed to deliver it to me tomorrow, but I think I'll pay him a visit today. Would you like to come along? I'll have him fetch something useful for you."

"Sure." - she smiled, but then she turned serious.

Wait... Was he talking about the same package Ulok had commented about earlier? Well, time to find out. Both stood up and left the VIP area. A fancy limousine looking hover car was waiting for them right outside.

"Please, after you." - Kyx bowed as he opened the door for her.

"Thank you." - she said.

Was he a gentleman! The boys could learn some lessons from him. Even Aerrow, who was usually the most polite among the guys, wasn't that refined. But, then again, maybe all that courtesy didn't really fit him, or all of the others for that matter. She giggled at the thought in her mind as she entered the car and took a seat. The man entered and sat in front of her.

"To Ulok's office at this instant." - he said to the chauffeur.

"Right away, sir." - the driver responded as he sped up as fast as the limousine could go.

* * *

The group remained inside the locked small space in the dark corridor. They'd been examining the walls for quite a while, trying to figure a way out. Aerrow was getting a little tired so he stuck one of his blades on the ceiling to serve as their light source, then sat on the ground.

"Yeah... I'm out of ideas right now." - detective Fire said as she sat near him.

"Well, let's take quick breaks in shifts." - Kaya suggested while she sat between them, then Radarr came to sit by his other side.

The sky knight didn't even react, it was like he wasn't paying attention, or at least not giving a care, about what was going on around him. He stared at the floor in thought. What else could they do? He wished Piper was there to give them a hand. She was always good at figuring out hidden things when no one else could.

"Hey, you okay, boy?" - the woman asked.

He didn't respond, though, he still considered that maybe Piper should have come with them. But then again, he couldn't bring her to danger. Especially when there were so many crazy people with evil intentions after her. They'd all attract a lot of attention: they had already broken through the secluded area, then they got a free pass to the VIP area because of her. Everyone from there most likely knew why they were able to come inside after they revealed that to the shady man in the bar.

Kaya took a brief look at him, then smiled mischievously. Another opportunity to tease him had just presented itself. Plus, maybe that could cheer him up a little, since he looked almost hopeless.

"Oh, he's fine." - she said, then she leaned closer to the detective so she could whisper - "He probably just misses a certain someone."

And that man in the bar... He did look shady. He knew Kaya and Fire had inspected him and confirmed he didn't have any bad intentions. But still... What if he was just really good at hiding his true colors? What if he was truly evil and had managed to trick them into leaving Piper behind, just so he could use her abilities for wrong doings? He growled angrily in his mind. If that guy dared to do anything to her in his absence, he'd rip him apart like a...

"You mean the crystal mage?" - the woman asked in a low voice, almost as if the two were talking about some gossip - "Why? Are they together or something?"

"Who am I to disclose that?" - the Grandmaster said - "He should answer for himself, huh, Aerrow?" - she nudged him.

His ear twitched and his eyes widened when what they were talking about finally sank in. He turned to them and waved his hands in front of himself frantically.

"Hey, it's nothing like that! Really!" - he said nervously.

Radarr chirped at that. Ah, now his boy was back: acting just like the good old Aerrow.

"Hehe, I knew this would do the trick. You were a little way too serious even for you a second ago." - the little girl told him.

"I was? I didn't notice." - he confessed.

"Hm, don't strain yourself too much, boy. You're so young." - Fire said to him - "You'll pass your life without actually cherishing it. And when you grow old you'll regret this. Hah, I already regret not enjoying things better when I was a kid. Now that I have a time consuming job I know things will never be easy going like before. Though I do love my job."

He looked at the ceiling and actually reflected about that. It was true... He was acting almost like an old man, worrying too much about "adult business". He knew he had a lot of responsibilities, since he was supposed to save the Atmos, but still, nothing should prevent him from having fun and enjoying his life while he was at it, right? His co-pilot poked his head against his arm supportively, making him look at him and put a hand on his head, smiling.

"Yeah, you're right. Guess I was starting to get a little bit on the edge." - he admitted, then turned to Kaya - "But just one question: why me?"

"Because it's not as funny to tease the others about that kind of thing." - she told him - "Finn's a natural flirter so he'd be indifferent, Junko's way too naïve to realize what I'd be hinting at, Stork wouldn't even care because he's way past the age he'd feel awkward about this, and Radarr... Well, he's an animal, I can't tease _him_ about that!"

He just blinked.

"Seriously? That's why?" - he asked.

"Hm, yeah? If you didn't react either, I'd have nobody to tease about this and I'd be so bored!" - she said that sounding like a little kid upset about having nothing fun to do - "So promise you won't change, okay?"

"Huh? Alright, I won't." - he smiled at her.

She quickly moved her hand right in front of his face.

"To make this more official, you better make a pinky swear!" - she grinned.

"What?" - his eyes widened.

"Yep, most sacred of all vows! If you break it I won't ever be your friend again!" - she said to him - "C'mon, Aerrow, I know you'd not change, so you have nothing to worry about."

"It's not that... It's just..." - he trailed off - "It's... So girly and childish. Do we really have to? Aren't my words enough already?"

How awkward was that! Even worse than the teasing! He could tell he was probably starting to blush!

"Aww... Pretty please! This is the only time I'll ever ask you to make a promise like that. Really!" - she nearly begged - "I'll even make a pinky promise about this!"

"Okay... Fine..." - he said as he locked his little finger with hers.

"Yay! Then it's settled!" - she cheered only loud enough for him to hear, then she let go of his hand - "Well, now, what was going on in your head all this time?"

"I was wondering if we should ask for Piper's help." - he told her.

"That's a good idea. But would the communicators work from here?" - she pondered.

"Hm, I don't think so, my scanner says these walls block radio signals." - the woman said as she showed the data from her device - "Plus, even if they didn't, the signal could be picked up and we'd be able to be tracked down more easily."

"What about the link of the mind? You could try that." - the Grandmaster suggested to him - "There's no way someone's come up with something that can block or track down aural signals."

"Okay... I'll try." - he shrugged.

He closed his eyes to concentrate. He had to focus on sending a message to Piper, without anyone else being able to identify it. He opened his eyes again: they were glowing green.

"Piper... We need your help." - he said silently.

* * *

Kyx and Piper had arrived at the door of the building Ulok worked at. They exited the fancy hover car and walked towards the lobby.

"I need to speak to Ulok." - the man said to the person behind a desk.

The person blinked.

"Oh, Mr. Boss, sir!" - he said nervously - "Uh... Mr. Ulok is a little teensy-weensy itsy-bitsy tiny wee bit busy right now, he's looking for the... The... The perfect gift wrapper for your package!" - he was sweating a little - "Y-You don't want to ruin the surprise, r-right?"

Kyx stared at him unimpressed.

"Where's he? Give me access to his office." - he said as he walked past the man, Piper following close behind.

"Oh, no... This is bad news!" - he cowered under the desk and picked up a phone - "Mr. Ulok, the big boss is here!"

In his office, Ulok heard the warning.

"W-What?!" - he nearly shouted, then suddenly the door of the elevator opened right behind him, revealing Kyx and Piper - "Oh, Sir Kyx, it's a pleasure to see you again. Please, pardon me for the mess, I wasn't expecting you so soon."

"So, Ulok, do you have the package I've requested?" - the fancy dressed man asked.

"Ah, you see, I..." - the salamander looking man sweated a lot.

"Wait just a minute." - Piper intervened - "Is this package the one you've told us about earlier?"

"Yes..." - he sighed - "I'm terribly sorry, Sir Kyx. I had left it on my desk to put it on a safety box and when I came back it was gone!"

"Someone stole my package under your care?" - the man questioned.

"Kyx, don't be mad at him. He couldn't have known." - the girl tried to reason with him.

"Hah, he's the information broker, there's nothing he shouldn't know about." - he said.

"Not this time." - she told him - "The person who stole the package was most likely someone who was believed dead for many years."

"What? Who?" - he inquired.

"The same person who erased Kaya's records. An old close friend of her family. A merb scientist called Dr. Sins." - she explained.

He laughed a little.

"Now you're just yanking my chain. He just couldn't be alive." - he didn't believe what he had just heard.

"Kyx... We were just as surprised and in denial as you are." - she said to him - "But as we kept going into this case in more depth, we found clues. And all pointed at one thing: he's alive somehow and he's doing bad things in this province."

"This is plain impossible." - he said - "Unless he did... Really horrendous atrocities, there's no way he could've lived for this long."

"That's what we feared the most. We don't know what he could've been doing all these years." - she told him.

"I think I'll have this verified right now." - he said as he picked up a communicator - "I want all the guards ready. You're supposed to look for any sign of him." - he scanned a photo of the doctor that was in his dossier - "He's a main priority target, don't let him get away at all costs."

"Kyx! He can't be killed! We need him to answer why he's been doing this!" - the navigator warned him.

He blinked, then he quickly turned on his communicator again.

"Uh, not at _absolutely_ all costs. Do not terminate him, just arrest him." - he corrected himself.

The girl sighed in relief. Then suddenly her eyes began glowing orange: she was receiving a message from Aerrow.

' _Piper... We need your help._ ' - his voice spoke in her mind.

"It's Aerrow! He's talking to me." - she said.

"You mean through that link you've told me about?" - Kyx asked.

"Yes. He and the others need help." - she was a little alarmed, so she focused to answer his call - "What's going on, Aerrow?"

* * *

Back in the dark corridor where the group was stuck, the sky knight received her response.

"Great! She heard me!" - he said excited.

"Alright! Quick, tell her our situation!" - Kaya rushed him.

He nodded.

"We're... Kind of stuck in here." - he said a little sheepishly.

' _Stuck?! How?! W-Where?!_ ' - she inquired in his mind.

"We found a secret passage leading underground in the main square of the VIP area." - he told her - "We got stuck near a dead end because a wall came down behind us, trapping us here."

' _Are you okay? Is anyone hurt?_ ' - she asked with concern.

"We're fine, so far the air is still enough for all of us." - he explained - "But there's no light, except for my blades."

' _O-Okay. Give me just a minute._ ' - she warned him.

* * *

She turned to Kyx with a worried expression.

"So they're in the secret passage. That one leads to an area for the most VIPs of all the VIPs." - he explained - "The corridor has a self aware spectral barrier that detects the premium VIP pass. If they have the pass, they're automatically teleported to the premium VIP area, if not, they'll just go through it and will end up in a dead end, where they'll be trapped until my guards go find them."

"But, you just told your guards to stay put and watch for Dr. Sins." - she said.

"Yes, which means they won't go look for your friends." - he put a hand on his "chin" in thought - "I think we'll have to do it ourselves now, otherwise they might suffocate before any of my guards even considers going after them."

"Then we should go there quickly." - the girl urged him.

He nodded.

"Very well." - he said, then he turned to the information broker - "Ulok, you better tweak your security. It's supposed to be the best out there, isn't it?"

The salamander looking man laughed nervously.

"Yes. I'll get to it, sir." - he spoke apologetically.

"And I also want you to reserve a few things." - the man told him as he gave him a list - "Ms. Piper will definitely find good use for this. You better have all of the items in the list separated in your desk until we get back." - he warned him.

"O-Of course! Right away, sir!" - the information broker ran fast towards his archives to search for what Kyx had asked of him.

"Shall we leave now?" - he turned to the girl.

"Let's go." - she said as both walked out of the office.

* * *

Inside the underground trap, the group just sat on the ground near Aerrow.

"So, what did she say?" - Kaya asked.

"They're coming here, way back from Ulok's office." - he told her.

"Oh, great, we'll probably have suffocated before they arrive." - Stork complained - "I can already feel the air running out."

And just as he said that, it became harder to breathe.

"Stork!" - Finn shouted at him - "Now the air is really running out!"

"Good job, you just made the situation even worse." - the Grandmaster scolded him, since the air was going more scarce than ever.

"We need to find a way to break through these walls now!" - Aerrow shouted as he pulled his blade from the ceiling.

He focused his energy to perform the new sky knight move he had learned. He was enveloped in a blue aura, then charged forward and rammed himself against the wall, but it resisted the impact.

"Let me give you a hand." - Fire said as she pulled out two fans.

"Oh, crystal fans. Cool!" - the little girl commented.

The woman focused as well and dashed towards the wall. She slashed against it really fast and multiple times, but she was unsuccessful in breaking it.

"Guys, I'll try something too." - Junko said while he activated his knuckle busters.

He walked to the wall and punched it with all his might. He felt his arm shake and the trembling sensation traveled through all his body. He screamed as he pulled his hand away and stared at it with puppy dog eyes. Did that hurt!

"So... This wall is indestructible." - the merb commented - "Yeah, I was expecting that."

Everyone looked at him and, except for Mr. Softy and Fire, they all were glaring.

"Now you made us stuck forever for real!" - the sharpshooter yelled at him.

"I'd also be the one taking us out of here if there was any kind of control panel around." - he mumbled.

The others blinked.

"That's it! Maybe there's a control panel in here. It might be hidden somewhere and we gotta make it pop out." - the leader suggested - "C'mon, let's study these walls for hidden buttons or something."

"I guess it'd help if you didn't wear gloves. What if the panel is activated by fingerprints?" - the detective commented.

"She's right." - Kaya said as she removed her own gloves and proceeded to touch the wall - "Take off your gloves and help us search."

He followed the idea and did the same thing. A minute later, detective Fire pressed her hand against a certain point of the wall and a control panel appeared on the other corner of the trap.

"Ah, got it!" - she smiled triumphantly.

They all gathered around Stork who had instantly gone to the panel.

"So, can you take us out, expert?" - the blonde teased him about what he had said earlier.

The carrier pilot rolled his eyes annoyed, then stared at the panel again.

"Better leave him alone now, so he can focus on what he's doing." - the green eyed leader said as he put his gloves back on.

The merb concentrated on the task ahead the best he could. Their lives were currently in his hands, so he had to work fast and be precise. He pressed some buttons and quickly read all the text scrolling up really fast.

"How does he even do it?" - Junko asked in a low voice. Now that was some fast reading!

"That's called skill..." - detective Fire said amused.

Soon Stork managed to set up a command.

"Ah, I think I got this now." - he told them.

"Great! Good job, Stork." - Kaya complimented him.

But their joy didn't last for too long. Out of nowhere, a spider came down through one single silky thread and climbed in the carrier pilot's head. He froze at that, then he saw the arachnid walk right on top of his face. He screamed and flinched backwards, causing him to hit a button on the control panel. And that's where their trouble began: he accidentally activated the wrong command - the command to make the walls come together.

The walls began moving, reducing the space they had on the trap.

"What's going on?" - the wallop asked.

"I triggered the command to activate the trap." - the merb said - "Now we're gonna be crushed by these walls! And there's no way to cancel this!"

Everyone gasped. Aerrow quickly moved to one of the walls and stood his ground, trying to hold it back.

"Maybe you can't undo this, but can you still open another passage or something?" - the sky knight asked.

"I can try, though it'll be unlikely I'll manage this before we're doomed." - he responded.

"Just do it, Stork! We'll keep these walls at bay for as long as we can!" - the leader told him.

Junko, Kaya and Fire placed themselves by the walls as well, and pushed against them with all their strength. But it was tiresome and eventually they began being pushed back slowly, no matter how much effort they put into holding them back.

"Oh, my God, oh, my God!" - Finn was panicking - "I'm too young to become a sharpshooter pancake!" - he spoke that as if he were mourning his own death, then he screamed in horror from the top of his lungs.

* * *

The sound of his voice was so loud it echoed through the whole area. And fortunately, Piper and Kyx were near enough to hear it.

"Is that a girl screaming?" - the man asked.

But the crystal mage recognized the voice.

"It's Finn!" - she gasped - "They're this way!" - she pointed at a certain direction.

"Turn right!" - he ordered the chauffeur.

Not a minute later they arrived where the trap was located and they stood right above it.

"Guys! I'm here!" - the navigator shouted as she crouched on her hands and knees.

Inside the trap they could hear her.

"It's Piper! Thank goodness you're here!" - Kaya shouted back.

Everyone felt more relieved, maybe except for Finn.

"Help us! I'm too awesome to die like this!" - the blonde was freaking out.

"Hold on, we'll get you out of there!" - Piper told them, then she turned to Kyx - "We need to stop this trap quickly."

"Please, move aside, Ms. Piper, I'll open this door." - the man calmly walked to where she was standing a second before, then he removed one of his gloves.

The first officer could feel a soft gravitational pull from his ungloved hand, and he wasn't even putting any effort into it. That man was definitely powerful, no wonder nobody in the province dared to go against him. He touched the ground and with one deep breath, he pulled his arm up, breaking the stone door off the floor.

Everyone inside the trap blinked surprised. Kyx tossed the door away and put his glove back on. Piper quickly rushed to the edge of the hole and threw her arms there.

"Grab my hand!" - she said.

"Okay, Kaya, Radarr and Mr. Softy, you first." - Aerrow said.

The Grandmaster held the two animals as he lifted her so they could reach the edge of the hole more easily. The little animals jumped outside as the girl got a good grip of Piper's hand.

"Thanks for the boost." - she said as she was pulled out.

The boy jumped and grabbed on the edge then pushed himself up on his own. Detective Fire did the same right after him. The two of them offered their hands to pull Finn and Stork up as Junko leaped to the edge on the other side and was helped by Kaya, Piper and Kyx.

"Phew, that was close." - the wallop said as the walls collided right under his feet.

Aerrow looked around and noticed they were in an open empty area surrounded by a round wall.

"Where are we?" - he asked.

"This is the premium VIP area lobby." - Kyx told him.

"But this place's empty." - Finn commented.

"It doesn't work like you think. These walls are special warp portals. When you go through them you'll teleport to a special lab reserved just for you and designed to fit your preferences." - the man explained - "But you can only teleport to a lab if you provide DNA proof of the original owner of that reserved lab."

"I remember Dr. Sins used to have a secret lab, maybe it was here." - Kaya said.

"That's very likely. But he probably erased his records so we won't be able to track him down, unless we tried to go to the lab the conventional way." - the owner of the province said.

"Well, I have something from him." - the little girl told him as she picked up a small flask - "This was the same soap bubble flask he gave to me in my birthday. He didn't wear gloves, so maybe there's something in here."

"Go ahead and try it, be my guest." - Kyx gestured to the portion of the wall in front of them.

She walked to it and touched the flask against it. A circle glowed around it then a rift opened. Everyone followed her there.

* * *

As they stepped out of the portal, they saw a small building with a weak light and some individuals inside. The Storm Hawks gasped.

"Night Crawlers!" - Junko warned.

The dark soldiers were wrecking the place, destroying everything inside the building.

"We gotta get inside!" - the Grandmaster said as she sprinted off.

They all ran after her as she knocked the door down with all her might. The Night Crawlers turned around surprised, then hissed at her. They all aimed their guns at her and threatened to shoot. Aerrow saw that and was about to leap in to help her, when Piper stopped him.

"Let Kyx handle this one." - she said to him.

"What?" - he was confused, but he followed her gaze.

The man walked towards the entrance of the lab.

"Ms. Grandmaster, please, could you step outside for a moment?" - he asked politely.

Kaya exited the lab to let him enter, then she stood right behind him.

"What are you doing here? And where's Dr. Sins?" - she demanded of them.

"He's long gone now. Our Master has recruited him and he won't come back." - one of the soldiers spoke.

"And we're destroying this place on his request." - another one told them.

The girl stared at them angrily. She couldn't believe it! The doctor had sided with the enemy! But she couldn't understand! What could he gain from that?! What was he looking for?! Why was he doing that?! Then she took a brief look at the lab, and her mouth was agape. Inside of several glass jars were limbs being conserved by the liquid they were immersed in.

Near the window, the rest of the group watched them.

"Wait... So he attached those limbs to himself as substitutes for his own rotting body parts?" - detective Fire realized.

"Yes, just like I had thought, that's how he got his immortality." - Stork said - "I told you it was gonna be something sick and twisted."

"But for that he'd have to kill people every time he needed to replace something." - the woman concluded.

"That's inhumane!" - Aerrow clenched his fist - "He's not a scientist, he's a murderer!"

"What a monster! How could he do such an atrocious thing?!" - Piper said in disbelief.

"That guy's mad!" - Finn commented.

"He has to be stopped." - Junko said.

Then they heard the others speaking, so they went back to observing what was going on.

"You're surprised by this?" - one of the Night Crawlers taunted - "He's been doing it for quite a while, he even built a reputation for himself."

Kaya gritted her teeth in rage.

"You... How dare you?!" - she was about to step inside to smack that soldier really good when Kyx stopped her.

"I believe you're not welcome in here. You invaded my province, broke through security systems and you've just offended my guest." - the man said - "I have to ask you to take your leave right away and not touch this lab. I'll only give you one chance."

"Or what?" - a soldier challenged him.

"Or I'll have to take some drastic measures." - he turned to Kaya and the others - "You better stay at a safe distance."

The little girl blinked then quickly ran to the group. They all walked further away from the area, as the man nodded. He proceeded to remove his glove, then he revealed his unseen hand. The Night Crawlers just blinked confused. Was that man made of nothing? Was he invisible? Yet, they readied their weapons.

"You caused enough trouble here, it's time you're properly punished." - Kyx said as he generated a strange light where his hand should be.

The soldiers stared menacingly at him, until they realized what they were getting themselves into. They suddenly felt a strange gravitational pull. They were slowly dragged towards the man. They tried to grab on something, but the pull on them was way too strong, and their fingers simply slipped. They screamed in horror as they were completely sucked by the light and disappeared. Kyx placed his glove on his hand once he was finished.

"What... Was that?" - Stork asked almost horrified.

"That looks like how the big boss here deals with evil doers." - Fire said.

"Okay, remind me to stay on his best side." - Finn commented.

The man calmly walked to a table where the flask he had requested laid on.

"I believe this is mine." - he said as he picked it up.

"Mind if I ask what it is?" - Piper approached him and leaned to one side.

"It's just a rare spice I like to put on my drinks, to give them a better aroma, like vanilla essence." - he told her, making her giggle, then he opened it so she could feel the smell.

"You have great taste, Kyx. I couldn't have picked anything better." - she said.

"Hehe, one just can't have too much of this." - he commented.

* * *

Later everyone had gathered near the Condor. They had brought some crates from the information broker with a lot of things. Kyx, Ulok, Hont and detective Fire stood there with them to bid them farewell.

"Oh, thank you for saving my hide!" - the information broker said - "I thought I was done for!"

"No problem, Ulok. That's what friends are for, right?" - Kaya said to him.

She put a hand on his shoulder as a friendly gesture. While that, detective Fire and Hont walked to the others.

"Thanks for your help. Without you guys I'd never have gotten this far in my case." - the woman told them - "And now that tracking this Master Cyclonis down means I'll find the doctor too, I'll help you out right away. So stay tuned for news from my investigation, okay?"

"We will. Thanks, detective." - Aerrow said.

"You also helped me see how faulty was the security, so I'll work on it." - the owl looking man appreciated what they did.

"You might wanna make a few tweaks on the A.I.s in this province. They're lacking a few things." - Stork began, then both started a talk about how to make the artificial intelligence better.

Meanwhile, Kyx was saying goodbye to Piper.

"Ms. Piper, it was an honor having you here." - he said sincerely.

"It was a pleasure, Kyx." - she responded.

"Our talk made me rethink my business, so I decided to change it for the better." - he told her - "And for all your help, I'll pledge my allegiance to you in the war." - he bowed down and offered her a single elegant black rose, which made her smile - "You'll certainly be missed."

Wow, who would've thought they'd leave that place with yet a new ally? A very powerful ally. And to think they were initially going for a quick trip for some casual info and back. Maybe it was a good thing they got to stay longer, explore the place and meet a few new people.

"Thank you, Kyx." - she said as she accepted the rose - "Soon we'll meet again and I'll tell you the story I decided to save for another day."

"I look forward to it. Have a safe trip, Ms. Piper. I hope the books I provided will be enough." - he said.

"I'm sure they will." - she told him as she looked at a very big pile of books about crystal mastery, all gotten from the information broker.

The Storm Hawks and Kaya walked to the ship, and they all proceeded to get on board, except for the little girl.

"Hey, guys, I need you to go ahead to your next destination." - she said.

"Why?" - Piper turned to her.

"I wanna investigate what's left of Dr. Sins's lab with detective Fire to find out more about him." - she told her - "Your next destination is the place where you and Aerrow will learn how to master the bridge of the body. It's not too far, so I'll catch up with you in no time."

"You sure you don't want us to stick around for now?" - Aerrow asked.

"Thanks, but no need. I'll be fine. You guys have a lot to worry about already, so you better focus on your training while I handle this." - she said.

"But you'll come back soon, right?" - Junko looked at her expectantly.

"Of course I will! I can't let you boys slack off. If I'm not here you won't train hard, I know you're prone to being lazy." - she teased them - "Especially Finn."

"Hey!" - he shouted, feeling insulted.

The Condor soared as the squadron waved at the others. Kaya, Ulok, Hont, Kyx and Fire waved back at them.

"Don't forget your training! I'll know if you've done your tasks or not when I come back!" - the little girl shouted.

The ship turned around and disappeared in the vast blue sky, headed for a new adventure.

 

* * *

**NEXT EPISODE:**

**Episode 59** (parts 1, 2, 3 and 4)


	26. Episode 59 - Part 1

**Episode 59 - The Switcheroo**

**Part 1 - King of the Condor Once Again**

The Condor was flying towards its next destiny. They slowed down just a little when they got to a specific location. The sky was clean from absolutely any clouds, except for the huge wall of fog ahead. It was so thick they could see nothing beyond it. They were all gathered up in the bridge.

"I'm bored." - Finn said from where he stood, resting his back against the window with his arms crossed - "Are we there yet?"

"No, we're not." - Piper told him as she shook her head disapprovingly at his behavior - "We're supposed to meet up with Kaya here before we go any further."

"Do you think she'll catch up with us soon?" - Junko asked a little concerned as he looked out the window - "Isn't that too much to fly?"

"I'm sure she'll be here at any minute." - Aerrow said reassuringly.

"Yes... If she's faster than a carrier ship, that is." - Stork mumbled.

"You shouldn't underestimate me." - a voice said, drawing everyone's attention - "I'm a lot faster than it looks." - Kaya spoke as she entered the bridge through the solar roof and transformed into her human self.

"Kaya!" - Aerrow, Piper and Junko said in unison and smiled, while Stork and Finn just blinked.

"Hi, guys." - the girl knelt as the two little animals on the ship went to greet her - "Radarr! Mr. Softy! How are you two? Did you miss me? Because I missed you!" - the three hugged for a brief moment.

"How did your investigation with Detective Fire go?" - Aerrow asked.

"We found a good lead." - she told them - "We might actually track Dr. Sins _and_ Cyclonis down with it."

"That's great news, Kaya." - Piper commented.

"Yep. We're getting somewhere at last with the searching and all. Now you guys need to prepare for incoming battles." - the Grandmaster said then she turned to the navigator and the sky knight - "You two need to master the bridge of the body. While the rest of us will stay on the Condor and work on some training about teamwork." - she then looked at the others with a sly look - "Besides, you gotta learn how to fend off for yourselves when the number one and two guys from the team aren't here."

Aerrow and Piper exchanged glances awkwardly. It was true that they kind of did most of the planning and coordinating of the team and... That none of the others was an actually capable leader... But still... They had their perks. Yet, they knew Kaya had a valid point. It'd be good for the others to learn how to lead and plan on their own. To... Use their brains more wisely. They couldn't depend on the two like that forever.

"That... Shall be interesting." - the merb commented with a tiny smirk on his face.

The boy and the girl blinked surprised. If _Stork_ had said that, imagine what the others thought?! And their guess was confirmed when they looked at Finn, Junko, Radarr and even Mr. Softy. The blonde had a pleasant grin across his face, the wallop smiled happily, the little caterpillar mirroring him, and the co-pilot seemed eager as well.

"Well, we'll be off, then. Kaya will be in charge." - Aerrow told them as he began to walk towards the door.

"Oh, me? But I'm not even a squadron member." - the little girl said shyly.

"You're the Grandmaster, our trainer and guide, it's just natural that you'd be in charge." - he shrugged.

"Thanks. I'll do my best." - she saluted him - "Good luck, you two. Just remember, you'll head into the fog and fly until you reach the mountain. From then on you'll have to climb."

"Right." - they responded in unison and nodded determinedly, then went to the hangar bay.

When the two were no longer in the Condor, Kaya turned to the others.

"Okay, guys, time to begin our training. We'll be focusing on leading, planning and coordinating." - the Grandmaster announced - "And don't worry, everyone will get to lead."

"Alright! I'll be the first!" - Finn eagerly volunteered.

Stork and Junko grimaced at that, Mr. Softy just blinked blankly and Radarr looked at the two squadron members confused for a moment, then it hit him. Oh, God... That was going to be a long and dreadful day...

* * *

Aerrow and Piper flew in their skyrides towards the thick fog. They stopped for a moment before venturing in.

"I can't see anything." - the girl said.

"Yeah, we better be careful. Let's just move forward slowly and stick close." - the leader told her.

"Here, we better use these so we can locate each other, just in case." - she pulled out two blue flare crystals and handed one to him while she put the other on top of the handlers of her heliscooter.

"Great idea, Piper." - he placed his crystal behind the windshield.

The two headed into the fog and disappeared among the thick cloud of smoke.

* * *

Back on the Condor, Finn was the one giving the orders.

"Let's begin, I'll be taking notes on how well or bad you go." - Kaya said as she pulled out a list and a pencil.

"Any sign of anything suspicious around?" - the blonde suddenly asked.

Junko looked through a periscope while Stork and Radarr watched the windows.

"Negative." - the wallop replied as the other two just shook their heads.

"And... Kaya, will Aerrow or Piper be needing us any time soon?" - he turned to her.

"Hm... No, I don't think so. They should be fine on their own, it's just a little test for them." - she told him.

"Perfect..." - he grinned - "Okay, as the leader, my first order's to throw in a quick party celebrating my awesome leadership, since we're not in danger or needed right now. Then we'll go back to work." - he put it bluntly.

The flight engineer and the carrier pilot sighed, their shoulders falling. Again...? At least he bothered to check their surroundings first this time. Radarr and Mr. Softy blinked in disbelief. The Grandmaster just wrote something in her list and didn't say a word about that.

"What are you waiting for? Let's get this party started!" - the blue eyed boy said as he headed for the hangar, the others following him.

"Hey, Finn, how about a challenge? Can you make your quick party last for less than 15 minutes?" - the little girl suggested - "We kind of need to see how you lead in other situations, and there's the rest of the guys who have to go through the test too. We only have one day, you know."

"Fine, fine, but just because we're short in time today." - he crossed his arms.

"To make things a little easier, let me provide the material for this." - she said as she snapped her fingers and a few party decorations and balloons appeared inside a box, so they could get to it quickly.

In another box, there was some food that could easily be prepared, like sandwiches and some soda.

"Now that's more like it." - the sharpshooter grinned - "Stork, you'll be on the decorations. Junko, you'll be the cook. Radarr and Mr. Softy, you'll take care of the music but I have to approve your selection first. This time it just can't go wrong."

Kaya nodded slightly and took more notes on the list. Well, at least this time he chose the roles wisely. Now she'd have to see if he could handle the pressure of the leadership. In a few minutes they actually managed to set up a nice decoration and prepare a ton of sandwiches, even the music was alright... Maybe not so much for Finn, since he shook his head at the playlist chosen by the two animals.

"This is actually looking pretty neat." - Kaya commented - "Not bad for a random coordinated activity. I have to admit that you passed in that aspect this time."

"He did?" - Stork and Junko asked in unison, and Radarr chirped questionably.

"Being able to coordinate means having the ability to make the team do something together and succeed as a group, no matter what something it is." - she explained - "You were able to throw a party and everyone seems fine with it."

"I... Can't believe I'm saying this but I did feel more at ease by being on the decorations instead of cooking..." - the merb admitted, feeling almost ashamed for that.

"Well, and I like cooking, so I had no problem at all here." - the wallop said, smiling at the big plate of sandwiches he had just made.

Radarr gave Kaya a thumbs up, confirming he also had success in the role he was put on, along with Mr. Softy.

"Yeah, that all meant Finn managed to choose the right perks for you guys. So he passed. You all passed too." - she said.

"Heh, I'm the best, am I right?" - the sharpshooter grinned proudly.

"That was the easiest part, though. _Now_ , we're gonna put your skills to the test for real." - the Grandmaster told him - "The planning trial!"

* * *

All of the squadron stood near the gate to the landing strip, which had been prepared by Kaya for their training: there were several activated blazer crystals on the ground, to simulate lava, two pairs of logs with hundreds of needle crystals to serve for spikes moving from one side to another, a few dummies and a pair of rotating saws moving up and down. Beyond all that was Mr. Softy, sitting on a bench.

"Alright, guys. Your objective is to rescue Mr. Softy. You'll go there and bring him back through the obstacle course." - Kaya said - "Finn, you're supposed to get everyone out of the course unscratched. Go when you're ready."

The blonde walked towards the starting point and stood there, observing the course. He was actually analyzing his surroundings and thinking of how to use his teammates' abilities to their fullest, after all, if he had to lead, he had to do a good job, or the guys would never let him hear the end of it.

"Okay, I got it." - the sharpshooter said after a few minutes as he walked towards the group - "This is what we're gonna do: Junko will throw Radarr on top of the two logs; Radarr will detach the logs so Junko can place them as bridges above the blazer crystal pit; we'll cross the logs, then I'll stun the dummies while you guys charge them; when we get to the saws, I'll disable them with my crossbow so Stork can pass and catch Mr. Softy; and then we'll come back."

"You figured that out all by yourself?" - Stork asked with sarcasm in his voice, causing Finn to glare at him - "Because apparently you didn't consider the logs are filled with spiky needle crystals, making it impossible to cross them, and you don't even know if your arrows can stop the dummies, much less the saws."

"And you obviously didn't see how I got everything covered." - the blue eyed boy crossed his arms - "Just trust me."

He got up and the squadron followed him. They'd follow his lead, after all, they had to cooperate. At least if the plan backfired they knew who to blame. They headed for the platform where the starting point was.

"Are you guys ready?" - Kaya asked them.

"As ready as I can be." - Junko responded a little demotivated.

And that was understandable, after the last time Finn had led them, he just couldn't fully trust him again on the job. But, he didn't really have a choice, and, who knows? Maybe the blonde had learned something. The Grandmaster gave them the signal to start and she proceeded to count their time in a chronometer. Finn gave the orders.

"Junko, toss Radarr to the other side." - he told him.

The wallop picked the animal up and threw him over the blazers pit. The mission specialist managed to land on top of the second trap, which was the pair of logs with tons of needle crystals on them. He used his wrench to loosen the screws sticking the logs to the upper bar and detached them. They fell towards the pit, and Junko quickly grabbed a hold of them by their tips, so he'd not hurt himself, then pulled them to their platform.

"Great, now watch and learn." - the blonde said as he shot an arrow straight ahead, breaking all the crystals and leaving the log completely free of spikes.

The merb just looked away unimpressed, not wanting to admit his defeat. That was just lucky anyways. They all crossed the improvised bridge as the co-pilot got rid of the other pair of logs and the flight engineer pushed them aside. The next challenge was the dummies. They all stopped before a marked line on the ground, which was obviously the trigger for the inanimate training dolls. Finn stood on the very limit of the line and motioned for the others to prepare themselves.

He quickly shot extra charged arrows that stunned the dummies, so they couldn't pull out their weapons. With that, the others charged at the dolls, disarming them completely, so when the stunning effect wore off, they'd not be able to attack anymore. After that they calmly walked to the last obstacle: the rotating saws on the floor and ceiling.

"I'm so not gonna cross that." - the carrier pilot said a little nervous.

"C'mon, don't you trust your leader?" - the blonde asked him.

"You mean, _acting_ leader." - the merb emphasized - "And for a matter of fact, no, I don't trust you in charge."

"You at least trust me as the sharpshooter, right?" - he insisted seeming clearly irritated.

" _Aerrow_ trusts you as the sharpshooter." - Stork told him - "I'm just rolling with it."

"Well, then you better trust me now, because you're going there whether you want or not!" - the boy said as he pushed the green humanoid towards the saws.

The tech specialist screamed as he felt the air being cut by the rotating blades very close to his face, then he saw an arrow hitting the metallic circle of doom and dislodging it from its place, causing it to fall on the ground like one huge coin. Another arrow hit the saw on the ceiling, disabling it just the same. Stork looked at Finn with a horrified expression. He almost got him killed! But all the blonde did was shrug knowingly with a smug grin. The merb shakily walked across the field with the disabled saws towards Mr. Softy, who just sat on the bench eagerly waiting for someone to pick him up.

"Okay, you fat slimy bug..." - he said to the little pet - "I'm gonna take you back now."

The caterpillar jumped on his shoulder, which made him shiver grossed out. He really hated the fact that thing was so slimy, it was plain disgusting and most likely filled with bacteria... He just didn't get how Kaya and Junko thought he was "cute". The little guy did have a nice face and all, but that simply couldn't erase all the goo he was drooling on his armor. Ugh... Just ugh... Yet, Mr. Softy showed him some affection by rubbing his face against his cheek. The pilot just glared at him from the corner of his eyes, but let that go. He grumbled irritated and came walking back to where the others were waiting for him.

"Haha, we got you, Mr. Softy." - Junko said as he picked their mascot up, much to Stork's relief who sighed gratefully for having been rid of the caterpillar.

They all could calmly walk back to the starting point without worrying about any of the obstacles.

"See? I told you I got it all covered." - the blonde boasted about himself - "Now we can just waltz back to the starting line and finish the test easily. Talk about a brilliant leadership."

Junko and Mr. Softy smiled, Stork was too bothered by the slime on his shoulder to even pay attention to Finn, and Radarr rolled his eyes. Yeah, right, try besting Aerrow, then he can say he's good at leading...

"You know, guys, you should speed it up, remember I'm counting how long you'll take here." - Kaya reminded them as she pointed at the chronometer in her hand.

The group blinked and quickly dashed over to the starting line, finishing the test within seconds. They stopped for a moment, panting from all the running.

"Yeah, well, that was just a minor setback, nothing to worry about." - the sharpshooter said between his deep breaths.

The others just looked at him with blank expressions. The Grandmaster approached them to give them her report on the test.

"I have to admit, you guys worked very well under Finn's leadership." - she told them while nodding approvingly - "I'm glad everyone was willing to go through with it, despite what happened last time he got to lead."

They all looked at her knowingly. Heh, she could read auras, of course she figured out about what had happened the day Aerrow had to leave for a mission with Starling and left Finn in charge because Piper allowed him to take the role for once. Especially after their obvious reactions to the idea of having the blonde lead again.

"At least this time he bothered to make a quick check about what's really important _before_ throwing in a party..." - Stork said.

"Yeah, last time he and Piper made my head hurt from so much ordering around..." - Junko spoke.

Kaya giggled at that.

"I bet if Piper were here right now she'd be commenting about that ridiculous banishing stuff." - she remarked, causing Finn to shrug sheepishly at the memory, while Stork smirked almost evilly, Junko laughed and Radarr facepalmed - "I mean, seriously? You were grounding your teammates to their rooms? What kind of punishment's that? Also, you gotta remember a leader has to listen and accept ideas as well. You're not here to boss anyone."

"I know, I know. I did a much better job my second time around." - he said.

The co-pilot immediately shook his head with his arms crossed, growling a little in disagreement. Oh, no, he so did not. Teaching silly stuff to his subordinates, then abandoning the team when things get grim is not a shining example of a leader.

"Okay... Then the third time around..." - he amended.

The squadron thought about that for a moment. When was exactly the third time? Wait... That was when Aerrow hadn't come back from the Cyclonian castle and Piper had to go after him, leaving Finn kind of in charge. While Starling was there helping coordinate things too, it was the sharpshooter that had to represent the Storm Hawks and... Yeah, they had to admit he did mostly a pretty good job at keeping things okay. But it was thanks to Aerrow and Piper that they weren't ultimately defeated in the end, since they were the ones who disabled the shields from the pontoons, allowing the rest of the sky knight army to take Cyclonia down once and for all. Oh, and they also couldn't forget Radarr's fur, which was the miracle thing that prevented the Night Crawlers from overwhelming everyone.

"Well, I'll give it to you that you don't screw up _every single time_ and on some rare occasions you come out okay..." - the merb confessed, reminding him of when he had to play the role of Domo for a second time - "But don't let that get to your head."

"Oh, yeah, I totally rocked that day, huh?" - the blonde thought back to how he was a hero and saved Terra Vapos again.

The wallop and the mission specialist just exchanged confused glances, since they were never told the story of that day. Kaya approached them to give them the results of this first test so they could continue their training.

"Alright, Finn did a good job this time." - she told them - "Now who wants to be the next one to lead?"

The co-pilot jumped up, waving his arms, volunteering himself for the task.

"Right..." - the blonde mocked - "Like he's gonna be able to lead us when he can't speak."

Radarr glared at him angrily. Who did he think he was to talk about him like that? As if he knew any better than him how one is supposed to lead. Also, everyone knew the little guy would be the number 5 guy in the team. Even he came before Finn. For all he knew, even their mascot, Mr. Softy, was a better asset than him. That guy just didn't get where he belonged and still thought he was all that. One day he'd learn the hard truth, though, and maybe then he'll finally stop being so arrogant.

"Hmpf, if you can't take a hint from his actions and gestures alone, then Stork and I'll just make him a translator." - the Grandmaster said - "We'll only need a minute."

She walked to the hangar to grab some tools and dragged the merb along, so they could work on the device together.

* * *

Aerrow and Piper were still flying towards their destiny. They were going through the thick fog, the only way they knew how to tell where they were going was because of the bright crystals attached to their windshields that revealed each other's position. From that, they knew if they were flying to the right direction. Until something happened: the fog became thicker out of nowhere, but they didn't realize it until they were quite further inside the smoke cloud.

"Is it just me or the air feels heavier?" - he asked her.

"Now that you said it, I guess it does." - she responded and turned to look at him just to see he wasn't beside her - "Aerrow?!" - she called him panicked.

"I'm here, Piper. I'm still right beside you." - he quickly assured her, though he didn't know how to prove that yet, but he was pondering about it.

"How do you know? I can't even see you anymore." - she was starting to regret going there as it looked like they were completely lost in the middle of an endless cloud of fog.

"Because neither of us moved away from here." - he told her, a point which she certainly had to agree with - "I just wonder what's going on with this fog, it's not normal..."

"It's a lot thicker and even though we're this close and using crystals to aid us, we can't see anything." - she commented as she analyzed the situation.

"Do you think we must fly with zero vis then?" - he suggested.

"Maybe it's part of the training." - she came to a conclusion - "It could be some kind of test. We're probably meant to find our way to the mountain without using our vision."

"And how are we gonna tell where it is if we're not supposed to see it?" - he questioned her - "Hearing it? Feeling it? Smelling it?"

"It actually _is_ possible to hear the mountain. That's the way bats see: they make noises and are able tell where things are from the time it takes for the sound to come back to them." - she explained to him.

"That's smart... Now we just need to figure out a way to track a sound we make." - said in thought.

"I could use an attunement with a Binding Crystal to pick it up." - she pulled the green stone up - "Then I'll redirect the sound to you so you can locate me while I move."

"Alright, I'll make the sound with this new trick Kaya taught me." - he said as he lit his swords - "I don't know if the light will reach you, so you better prepare to shield your eyes, just in case."

He slammed the blades together causing a flash of bright light to explode, along with a strange and almost deafening bell sound. Not too long later the Binding Crystal glowed a little, having picked up the sound. Piper smiled, then turned to where Aerrow was supposed to be.

"What was that?" - she asked curiously.

"A technique to stagger and blind an opponent." - he told her - "Might come in handy one day."

"She sure is teaching you a lot." - she commented.

"Yeah, I've lost count of all the new moves she showed me. And she told me there's still a lot more to learn." - he said, then he went back to the matter at hand - "So, how far we are from the mountain?"

"It's straight ahead, about 200 meters." - she told him.

"Let's fly then." - he gunned his skimmer forward.

Soon they finally reached the mountain, and to their surprise, the fog ended abruptly, right before the huge rocky wall came. They had to stop their skyrides dead really fast, or they'd crash on the wall. They looked up and saw that the wall never ended.

"That's gonna be quite the climb..." - Piper said.

Indeed it was... Their day would be pretty tiresome alright.

* * *

Kaya and Stork were working on a translator device for Radarr, so he could bypass the disadvantage of his limited communication.

"There, it's done." - the Grandmaster said as she and the merb finished tweaking a few things - "Alright, Radarr, you'll have to wear this while you're leading, so the others can understand what you're saying."

The animal looked at the device and noticed it was a collar. That definitely didn't make him pleased. So he crossed his arms and gave her a look, as if he were hesitant to wear that.

"I know, buddy, but it'll be for just half an hour or so. We couldn't figure something else quick enough." - she told him apologetically.

He rolled his eyes but let her put the collar on him. Ugh, that was humiliating... At least it was just temporary. After tying the device up around his neck, she took a few steps back.

"Now... The final test." - Stork announced to himself.

Radarr took a deep breath to ignore the fact he was wearing the collar, so he'd feel more comfortable, then, he finally spoke.

" _Testing, testing._ " - the words came out from the collar.

Everyone looked at him with a face that read "What the...?". Finn and Junko had to hold their laughter, while Kaya and Stork looked creeped out, maybe even slightly horrified. Radarr, on the other hand, was bewildered and irritated.

" _Oh, my God... What kind of voice is this?!_ " - he demanded an answer.

Indeed, his voice was... Weird, to say the least. It was quite high pitched, it seemed a little sped up and it sounded almost robotic. Well, that's what you get from a voice synthesizer. The blonde and the wallop were almost giving in to their giggles.

" _Don't you dare..._ " - the co-pilot threatened them, but to no avail.

The two couldn't take it anymore: they burst laughing hysterically. The worst of all was that their laughter was so contagious that the Grandmaster and the merb were also starting to giggle a little. The animal crossed his arms angrily.

" _Yeah, yeah, laugh it all you want._ " - he said - " _I hope you'll catch that laughing fever so your heads will pop._ "

Kaya tried to amend the situation, though.

"Aww, I'm sorry, Radarr." - she knelt beside him - "But that was all we could come up with in such a short time. If you'd like me to tweak it a little more you'll have to let the others lead first, then."

The animal sighed. He didn't really want to give her that much trouble for such a stupid thing.

" _Nah, it's okay, don't sweat it. It'll be for only a few minutes anyways. I can live with that._ " - he shrugged - " _Even if these pricks won't let me hear the end of it._ " - he nodded at the two laughing Storm Hawks.

"Ah, now that's the spirit of a true leader." - the little girl said - "Let's start your training as the boss here. First: a coordinated event."

The co-pilot put a finger under his chin in thought, when he heard a few giggles coming from the squad mates who were unaware that the training had started again. And it was then that an idea hit him.

" _Okay, I got it._ " - he told her as he walked towards the others - " _Alright, it's time for our cooperative task. I came up with an activity to teach you about integrity, loyalty, charity and sacrifice. We're doing a clean up on the Condor._ "

The guys looked at him with confused expressions, except for Stork, who was picking up on the idea. He smirked. He most likely would enjoy that, since he knew why Radarr was really suggesting it.

They all headed for the bridge, where the mission specialist explained the task.

" _The Condor has way too many things. We're on a special mission and useless stuff could get in the way, so our objective today is to get rid of anything that won't contribute to the mission._ " - he told them - " _Now, go to work. I'll be watching if you're doing a good job or not._ "

Everyone went to their rooms, where they were supposed to look for stuff the team did not need in order to throw it away. The boys were actually working on the cleaning. They were piling up some stuff, but of course they didn't put their "important" personal belongings there, even though they had quite a big amount of them and those were indeed useless for the mission. And that's what Radarr would exploit until his heart was content. He walked beside Junko, who sat on the ground, separating some actual trash from his belongings.

"Hehe, I found some leftovers under my mattress, do you want some?" - the wallop said while chewing on a slice of rotting pizza and offered it to the co-pilot.

" _Uh, no, I'm not hungry right now._ " - he declined, trying not to sound completely disgusted, then he proceeded to watch the place - " _So... You collected a lot of stuff in your locker again, for the third time._ " - he commented and the flight engineer nodded excitedly - " _You know it's weighting the Condor and it could cost us in a battle. Stick to your top 10 favorite items only, okay?_ "

"What? But... I'll lose almost all my stuff!" - Junko objected.

" _You already lost all your stuff twice, this time you're getting to keep something, it's not so bad._ " - Radarr told him - " _Look, we all gotta make some sacrifices for the team. I'm sure you can handle this one, buddy._ " - he patted his back once, then walked away to check on the others.

The wallop sniffed sadly. Now that was mean... The Grandmaster came to him for comfort.

"He has a point, Junko." - she told him as she placed a hand on his shoulder - "Keeping too many things locked away can be bad. Like this, for example, when was the last time you saw it?" - she showed him a big piece of a broken gear.

"I... I don't remember." - he lowered his head - "Yeah, you're right. These things are looking almost like old toys I don't play with anymore. We'd probably be better off melting and recycling them into something useful."

"That's great, big guy. I'm glad you thought of this." - she complimented him, so he'd feel better.

He smiled and proceeded to pile up the old metal parts he didn't even touch anymore and just kept for... Well, he didn't even know why he kept those things anyways. Kaya gave him a comforting squeeze on the shoulder, then she left to check on how Radarr was dealing with the others. She found him in Finn's room, where the blonde was separating what he considered trash. He was definitely tidier than Junko, but his room wasn't nearly as organized as Piper's or Aerrow's.

" _Hm... You're not exactly making a pile of stuff to throw away here._ " - the co-pilot commented.

"Of course not, my stuff's awesome, I'm only taking away the trash." - the sharpshooter told him.

" _Yeah, I see. But you forgot this, and this, and this..._ " - the animal picked up a few objects, throwing them in the bag Finn was using to gather the trash - " _Wow, look at these! There are so many we could use them as coins in our game of Splonk._ " - he said as he held a nice bunch of guitar picks.

"Hey!" - the blue eyed boy shouted as he snatched his picks from Radarr - "Those are for my guitar!"

" _And...? You don't need that many picks for one guitar. Keep your best 3 at most._ " - the mission specialist crossed his arms, then he saw the huge shelf with tons of discs, some recorded by Finn himself, others about music he enjoyed - " _Ah, and we can't forget those either. Just like Junko, you may stick to your top 10 from there._ "

"What?! That's not fair!" - the blonde objected - "Why don't you throw away your stuff?!"

" _Hah, joke's on you! I don't have any personal stuff._ " - Radarr put his hands on his hips.

"Right..." - but upon seeing how the little guy was dead serious, Finn couldn't help but question him - "You... You don't?"

" _Nope. All of the tools I use for work are in my cockpit in Aerrow's skimmer. Which he's using right now._ " - he explained - " _Even then, I've thrown stuff out in the sky so many times that I lost count of it already. So if I can make that sacrifice, you can too._ "

The co-pilot walked to the shelf, picked up a random disc and broke it in half without a second thought, causing Finn to scream.

"C'mon! That was one of my best records!" - he said.

" _Was it one of your favorites, though?_ " - the animal asked.

"Not really, but still..." - he rolled his eyes.

" _Sacrifice, Finn, we all gotta make some._ " - Radarr said - " _And you already lost all your discs once. Be happy you can keep 10 of them this time._ "

The sharpshooter grumbled but did as he was told, since they had to cooperate as part of the test. Leading test... Hmpf, that should be called a freaking endurance test, seriously. Kaya, who watched from the doorway, had to hold her giggles. That was simply hilarious. Finn being put down by Radarr, she wished she had recorded that, Aerrow and Piper would've had a good laugh at it.

The next one the co-pilot had to watch was Stork. The merb had already separated a crate with the stuff he didn't need. Yet, his room didn't look any... Less creepy. He had a very strange taste for how to "decorate" his room. It was tidy and all but it still looked weird and didn't feel like the most comfortable place to stay at, especially considering Stork set up dozens of booby traps in case someone tried to kill him in his sleep. Talk about going overboard...

"There, that should do it." - the merb said.

" _Yeah, you finished fast. But we gotta do something about all those crates of yours in the hangar._ " - the animal pointed with a thumb towards the general direction of the hangar bay.

"Oh, no, you're not gonna throw my cabbages away again." - Stork warned, causing Radarr to sigh.

" _Look, everyone's doing a major cleaning, so I can't simply let you off._ " - the co-pilot told him - " _Besides, you're the only one who eats those. Two crates should be more than enough. Remember we have plenty of food from the Far Side too._ "

"Hmpf, one day you'll need my cabbages, and you won't have any. This way you'll learn some consideration." - the carrier pilot crossed his arms.

The mission specialist rolled his eyes.

" _What's the point of having all that emergency food if we can't eat it?_ " - he questioned him - " _When we had to resort to it, not even Junko could push it down, and he eats anything. Two crates only, that's final._ "

"I stand by what I told you." - the green guy said as he walked out of his room with a crate.

Radarr sighed irritated but quickly let it go. There was no point in trying to get through to him and his paranoia.

 


	27. Episode 59 - Part 2

**Episode 59 - The Switcheroo**

**Part 2 - The Sad Warrior**

Soon everyone was done with their own rooms and they all reunited in the corridor.

"It's finally over..." - Finn commented as he rubbed his aching back from carrying so much weight with all the stuff he put in the trash bag.

"What about Aerrow's and Piper's rooms?" - Junko asked as he tossed a much bigger bag through the airlock.

"Those two are tidier than everyone combined." - Kaya told them - "And they're not here, so I don't think it'd be a good idea messing around their rooms."

" _Yeah, you're right. Well, let's stick to only giving them a quick clean up, empty trash cans, stuff like that._ " - the animal said.

The co-pilot and the wallop went to Aerrow's room, while Finn and Stork went to Piper's. The first two inspected the room for any trash they could throw away. Junko was using a broom to sweep the floor, while the little guy was using a piece of cloth to clean the desk. Radarr opened a drawer on the desk and peered inside. There he found a few pictures. There was nothing special about them at first glance, at least he didn't seem to notice anything, but he wasn't sure why the sky knight didn't put those pictures in the photo album. Well, he better leave them there before he got into trouble for moving them around.

In the other room, the sharpshooter and the merb were supposed to find anything unwanted that Piper might have left behind. They definitely had the easiest job, since the girl was the tidiest among them all and she rarely ever even left anything in her trash can, much less stuff lying around in her room. Once they stepped in the room, they saw all of the crates and shelves perfectly organized with tons of crystals of all kinds.

"She's really obsessed with these things." - the blonde commented as he looked at all of the colorful bright stones.

"Hm... I could definitely use some of these." - the merb studied a shelf with some strange purple crystals - "And, I think we never learned what exactly those do." - he pointed at a small box with a few green crystals.

"They're those crystals she's been using with Aerrow." - the sharpshooter said - "They kept all the fun to themselves."

"Oh, of course, having super human strength and speed in exchange for your life force. Yeah, that sounds like fun." - Stork said sarcastically as he referred to what happened to Piper after using the binding during the last battle against Cyclonia.

"Kill joy..." - Finn crossed his arms, until his eyes happened to catch a certain book - "What's her log doing here? Doesn't she always take it with her?"

"She does. That's not the squadron log, it's a diary." - the green guy told him.

"Hahaha, dude, you're right! Wow, I used to think she was weird since every girl had a diary, except her." - he said - "In the end she did have one, she just tried to hide it. But now we can finally learn her little secrets."

He moved in to grab the book, but Kaya quickly appeared in front of him and snatched the diary away.

"Hah, as if I'd let you read Piper's diary." - she warned him - "Don't you dare touch this book, or you'll face _my_ wrath."

"Okay, okay, I won't even come close to it." - the blue eyed boy retreated.

"Good, now you guys better wrap it up so I can finish this test and begin the next one." - the Grandmaster told them as she left the room with the diary under her arm.

When she was out of hearing range, Finn spoke again.

"Can't have a little bit of fun these days..." - he commented.

"Perhaps you should consider if what you call fun is really fun." - the merb said nonchalantly as he finished inspecting the room.

"Like you can say anything. Your fun is to read utterly dark books all day. You even tried to drag Aerrow into this once, I can't believe he almost put up with that." - the sharpshooter commented about the 5 days when Aerrow had to remain still to recover from his wounds - "If I wasn't so busy cleaning, I'd have been responsible for the fun program, and Aerrow wouldn't have driven us nearly insane."

The carrier pilot rolled his eyes as both walked out of the room and headed for the bridge where the others were waiting for them. Kaya was holding a list where she marked a few things and took some notes.

"Okay, here's the score for the coordinated event for Radarr." - she began - "You were fully able to get everyone to complete a group task even though they didn't exactly like it. Sometimes you were a tiny little bit too harsh, though, but I don't blame you." - she eyed Finn and Junko after mentioning that and they grimaced - "Other than that, you did a great job."

The co-pilot smiled. Ah, it was great having some recognition, Piper definitely knew what she was talking about when she'd say having your abilities known felt really good.

" _Is the next test gonna be a tactical challenge too?_ " - he asked since Finn's second test had been about planning in battle.

"Yep, but it won't be like Finn's test. I've built a personalized test for each one of you in order to challenge you the most." - she explained - "So I hope you're ready, because the next test won't be easy."

" _Bring it on!_ " - he said excitedly.

He'd prove to them all that he wasn't an actual squadron member for nothing, he would show them he could lead and that he could be a great tactician too!

* * *

The Condor was being attacked by a big bunch of Night Crawlers. They all had those strange devices on their chests that summoned monsters from who knows where. The squadron was defending the ship like it was no big deal, though. Under Radarr's command, Stork took care of the ship's defenses, while Finn and Junko shot at their enemies. The co-pilot had provided his own fur as special ammo, which explained why his tail was completely naked. He certainly didn't like that, but he'd make the sacrifice for the team.

Suddenly, a loud roar was heard from below them: a giant beast very similar to the ones summoned by the Night Crawlers came from the clouds. It narrowed its eyes angrily at the Condor, then it spat a big fireball from its mouth.

" _Stork! You better double the shields on the back quick!_ " - the mission specialist told him.

The merb pulled a lever that caused the special force field he had been working on recently to thicken at the back of the ship. The reinforced shield managed to hold the blast of the fireball just fine.

" _Nice one! Finn, keep shooting at the Night Crawlers. Junko, drop the bomb!_ " - Radarr ordered.

The blonde kept all of the enemy soldiers at bay while the wallop prepared the explosive. He stood on one of the platforms with the towers and tossed the bomb with all his strength. The metallic owl looking ball hit the head of the monster that came from the clouds and exploded. The beast screeched in pain and retreated at once, causing the rest of the Night Crawlers to fly away. Suddenly, their images faded away as Kaya picked up a little cube on the ground that she was using to simulate the attack.

"Very good, guys! You've done a great job. And, Radarr, you're a fine leader alright." - the Grandmaster told them.

" _Hah! In your face!_ " - the co-pilot pointed a finger at Finn, who shook his head a little annoyed.

The animal would never let him hear the end of it now... Kaya approached the mission specialist and patted him on the back.

"Now that your turn is over, you don't have to wear that thing anymore." - she said while she pointed at the collar on his neck - "As for your tail, Piper knows how to make your fur grow back really fast."

" _Good. Well, that was fun, but I guess I'll go back to being silent. Still, we should keep this, just in case I need to say something important._ " - he said as he untied the collar and put it inside his backpack.

"Okay, guys, who wants to lead next?" - and upon seeing Junko and Stork wouldn't move, she continued - "Well, if no one is gonna volunteer, I'll have to pick you myself." - she closed her eyes and proceeded to chant 'Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe' until her finger pointed at one of the two Storm Hawks - "Looks like it's your turn now, big guy."

The wallop smiled shyly but accepted the random decision. After all, Kaya chose him by chance.

"Well, okay. Can I have a minute to think of the next task?" - he asked.

"Sure, take your time. Just... Not too _much_ time, we still gotta test Stork before Aerrow and Piper get back." - she told him.

"Got it." - the flight engineer nodded.

* * *

Aerrow and Piper had parked their skyrides on a ledge they found nearby and had proceeded to climb the very high mountain. The two had a pretty good start, but as they glanced forward to their destination, the mountain looked like it'd not end, and that was starting to worry the girl.

"Aerrow? How long do you think we've been climbing?" - she asked him.

"Not sure, maybe about an hour?" - he guessed.

"Well, for a straight climb like this, don't you think it's a little bit too much? We can't even see the end of the mountain." - she said.

"Yeah, but we don't have a choice. We gotta climb until we get to the top." - he told her.

"Aerrow, it's more likely we'll tire out way before we reach the top." - she explained - "I think we're not supposed to take this so literally."

"What do you mean?" - he questioned her.

"Remember how we had to use sound waves to locate the mountain?" - she reminded him - "Maybe we should use anything other than our vision to get to the top as well."

"You're right, I get it now. I think this fog is messing with our minds by showing us something different than what truly is here." - he realized - "And the only way to know where we really are is by not trusting our vision, but our other senses instead."

"Yeah, that's exactly what I've been thinking too." - she agreed.

"Okay, then let's move on with our eyes closed, just be careful not to lose your footing." - he said.

The two shut their eyes, and with nothing reaching their minds they proceeded to climb blindly upwards. It definitely felt strange and it was harder to climb without the guidance of the eyes. They had to feel the wall and figure out where they could hold onto to pull themselves up another way. Not only that, but by closing their eyes, they lost their sense of how high they were. One false move and it could mean their demise.

The sky knight sensed his navigator shaking as they climbed, so he stopped for a moment to check on her.

"Are you okay, Piper?" - he asked.

"Uh, yeah... I mean, I have to climb a really high mountain as if I were blindfolded, but I'm totally fine." - she responded, and her uncomfortable feeling was noticeable.

"Here, take my hand." - he said as he reached an arm out for her.

"Hm? Oh, no, I... That's gonna get in your way, we'd have to climb with only one arm and..." - she tried not to make things harder than they already were.

"Hey, it's alright. We can be each other's support, isn't this test supposed to be a team effort?" - he told her.

Well, he was certainly right, the challenges that came their way seemed to be meant to be overcome by both of them as a team and not by themselves individually. They kept climbing slowly, one waiting for the other's move so they could continue. They were in nearly perfect sync, which was surprising, considering that was the very first time they'd done something of the sort. Suddenly, Aerrow grabbed on what seemed to be a ledge.

"I think we reached the top!" - he said as he helped her climb up a little more to reach the ledge.

"Really?" - she asked as both started to push themselves on top of it - "It didn't look like it a minute ago, but then again, we're not supposed to believe in our eyes here."

"You may believe them now, though." - a voice said to them.

They opened their eyes to find a very old man standing before them. He was quite short and his back was very curved from his age, he wore a long yellow robe which made him look like some kind of monk. He had white hair on the sides of the head and a tuft of hair tied up on the crown of the head, a long and thin white bear and grey eyes that appeared to be... Blind. His skin was slightly tanned and was very wrinkly because he was very old.

The two teenagers stood up and took a look at the place. It was very foggy but it seemed to be a temple of some sort. There were some marked rocks, a few trees and a building of considerable size, which was probably the main temple. The ground had paths made of stone and green grass. There were no signs of any kind of animals or insects. The only living being who seemed to live there was the man in front of them. The two exchanged glances: that was certainly strange...

* * *

Back at the Condor, Junko had come up with his group task: he had convinced everyone to simply sit down and meditate. Before he met Kaya, he only meditated to fight the anger proneness that's common on wallops, but now he learned more tricks that came from meditating: he learned how to improve certain abilities of his by meditating. It wasn't possible to improve something he was already good at, since for that he'd need to train, but he could improve things that he was lacking. And that's what his group activity was about.

"Breathe slowly and think about your weaknesses, what you can't do so well now or what won't let you improve." - the flight engineer said as he took a deep breath and the others followed his lead - "Accept them and set your mind to becoming better. Imagine you can do anything and that your weaknesses won't be in your way again."

The Grandmaster observed quietly with a proud smile in her face, then she took some notes. The others seemed to be doing fine as well, maybe with the exception of Finn, who looked a little irritated and bored. Funny how Junko had managed to convince him to meditate.

_"Okay, guys, I got this: today we're gonna meditate." - the wallop had said._

"Boring... Can't you figure something fun to do?" - the blonde rolled his eyes.

"But meditating is fun. And this new method Kaya taught me can help make you great at anything you want!" - the wallop told him - "Just look at how I improved in the kitchen!"

"Wait, wait, so you're telling me that if I meditate I can become anything. Like rich and famous... Right..." - the sharpshooter sounded skeptical.

"Well, not with that attitude, you can't." - Junko retorted.

"Fine, I'll give it a shot..." - Finn finally agreed.

And now he was as bored as ever. She couldn't help but giggle internally about how the boy had been easily tricked. After a couple more minutes meditating, Junko conducted a group chat where everyone sat in a circle to discuss what they had learned meditating.

"Stork, what did you meditate about?" - the wallop asked.

"An old memory of my first time witnessing a natural disaster. I was a little boy at the time." - the pilot started - "I used to repress this memory because even though I didn't get caught up on that tornado it brought doom anyways. That day I wasn't prepared, so when that huge cloud of bats came I couldn't do anything."

His little story was starting to creep the others out. They all stared at him with weirded out looks on their faces, but the merb either didn't care about what they thought or he didn't pay attention for he went on and on, telling his childhood memory. And the more he continued, the worse the story got.

"Well, I'm really not interested in..." - Finn began, until he heard something he really wished to have wiped out of his mind forever - "Oh, Gosh, no!" - he covered his ears in order not to hear anything else.

"Those rabid rats chewed on me for hours. I could feel my skin starting to..." - he continued, paying no mind to the blonde.

"Uh, Stork! That's a really nice story. But it's a little bit too long, and we don't have all day now." - Kaya interrupted him - "Could you please skip to what you learned from your meditation?"

The rest of the guys were visibly relieved when they saw the tech specialist shrug, accepting the girl's suggestion.

"Fine. Well, I learned the hard way that one can never forget to apply bat repellent everyday." - he said - "They say I became paranoid after that, but I know that event taught me to be careful and expect the worst from a situation."

"Very good, Stork. You just accepted the good and the bad things that come from your childhood trauma." - the Grandmaster commented - "And you're doing a fine job with promoting self discovery, Junko. Keep it up."

"Okay. Radarr, your turn now." - the flight engineer nudged the little guy lightly.

The mission specialist put a finger under his chin to think of how to put his thoughts into words, or rather, into gestures and riddles... Yeah, he had to admit the collar helped a lot with communication, but he refused to depend on it. He'd find a way to get his point across. Then suddenly came up with something: he punched and kicked the air a few times, then he laid on the ground and did some fake push ups and ran in his place, and finally, he pointed at the fog and mimicked a salutation gesture very similar to a certain redhead.

"Uh... You were meditating about Aerrow?" - the wallop guessed, to which the little animal facepalmed.

Well, at least he got the part that he was referring about Aerrow... But then again, if he didn't get it, he could be considered the least smart member of the group.

"I believe he means he meditated about training hard and being very dedicated, like Aerrow." - Kaya said, and the little animal gave her two thumbs up while nodding, confirming she was right.

"Oh... That's good, Radarr. Aerrow's a great role model for you." - Junko told him.

"Or for anyone in that matter." - the girl commented - "And the fact he doesn't take advantage of it makes him even better."

"What do you mean he doesn't take advantage of it?" - Finn asked.

"Well, he has many good qualities and even then he doesn't try to get something out of it, like being famous, having many fans, becoming rich." - she explained - "He's so humble he prefers just being himself."

"Oh, right. Yeah, he does that. But what's the point of being so great and not enjoy the good things that come out of it?" - the blonde questioned that attitude - "That's not fun at all."

"You know, Finn, there are things more important than having fun all the time." - the Grandmaster said - "You definitely should learn that." - she added, causing him to roll his eyes.

"Speaking of which, what did you meditate about, Finn?" - Junko asked.

"Nothing that important. Just that if I had better ammo I'd never have lost to Ravess. Or that I'm always a target for disaster." - he told them - "Seriously, why is the world against me?"

"I can assure you Ravess is much more than those arrows. She was a better sharpshooter than you were. You do know aiming a bow is a lot harder than aiming a crossbow, you've experienced it yourself." - the little girl said, and the blonde couldn't deny she had a point - "But after the training I put you through, you're now more skilled than she is. And as for the world being against you, that's just karma. That's what you get for being a prankster, the universe plays pranks on you as payback."

"What?! And how come nobody else here is a target? Everyone here has played pranks!" - the boy objected.

"First, you're the one who usually calls out on the pranks and drags the others in." - she put it bluntly - "Second, you think everyone has it easy here? Try being shot in the face by the Dark Ace and walking out of it alive."

He had to admit that Aerrow did have it quite rough. They had begun the talk about him, so using him as the example was just natural. And to think the guy had been taken out of the sky mercilessly in his very first sky duel. He was noticeably injured after that, nothing serious, but it didn't mean it didn't hurt a lot. Come to think of it, he never thought twice before throwing himself in the line of danger. No wonder he became the leader and the squadron followed him anywhere he went. Finn also had to agree that sometimes he made things harder for Aerrow when he'd try to have his way over his leader's orders or insist on being in charge when he wasn't that capable, though now he was sure the sky knight could trust him in charge, specially after this new training he's been doing.

"Okay, okay, I got it, I'm not in the _worst_ end of it." - Finn finally said.

"Good. So be a little more grateful, will you?" - Kaya crossed her arms - "You're part of an amazing squadron, you have great friends, and you did get to enjoy the good stuff quite a few times."

"Oh, yeah... That was awesome." - the blonde smiled to himself when thinking about the memories of Terra Vapos, the fan girls he got in Terra Rex, the squadron he led once, "the Ultra Dudes"... That wasn't bad at all.

The little girl shook her head amused, then she turned to Junko.

"So, I believe you're the only one left to share what you learned." - she commented.

"Yeah. I meditated about the test you'll give me next." - the wallop told her - "I was easing my mind so I'd be ready."

"And are you?" - she smiled, glad he was working in anticipation to her challenge.

"As ready as I can be. I know I'm not too good as a leader, but I'll try my best." - he assured her.

"Alright, then, I'm sure you'll like what I have prepared for you." - she put a hand on his arm.

* * *

Everyone was standing on the landing strip, while Kaya set up her gadgets in order to begin Junko's leadership and tactical test. She was tweaking a few things on her holographic kit.

"Very well, this is your test, Junko." - she tossed the kit over the edge of the landing strip.

The devices activated in mid air, forming a quite large building made entirely of holograms. It appeared to be some kind of fortress, reinforced with many defensive towers and a very thick wall on the outside.

"I'm sure you're familiar with this kind of thing. Your objective is to take that data sphere without damaging it." - she explained as she pointed at the orange ball of light that stood out among everything - "You have 3 minutes to think of a plan."

"Hm..." - the wallop studied the building for a brief moment - "Okay, I got it."

"What?! You didn't even take 10 seconds!" - Finn said in disbelief.

"I guess I just didn't need the full 3 minutes." - the flight engineer shrugged.

"Well, you better know what you're doing." - Stork said nonchalantly.

"I do know! And you'll see." - Junko was bothered by their lack of trust in his tactician skills. But he'd show them a thing or two.

He headed for the bridge, where he'd give everyone the orders: he had Finn and Radarr shoot the towers and Stork take care of the defense of their ship and the driving. As for himself, he was in charge of the important part of the objective: taking the sphere away without a single scratch.

The carrier pilot took the ship near the fortress. From a safe distance, the sharpshooter and the mission specialist proceeded to take out the towers, one by one. The blonde obviously nailed almost all of them very quickly, hadn't the co-pilot shot a few of them.

"Haha! Too slow, Radarr." - he mocked.

The little animal glared at him. Oh, yeah, of course... As if it was so easy to aim that cannon with the highest recoil ever when you're his size and light as a feather... He should've been the one piloting the ship, at least he could do a better job on that than on shooting.

"Stork, bring us closer now, right above the roof." - the wallop told him.

The merb hovered the Condor above the fortress, aligning Junko's position with the roof as he had requested. The flight engineer picked up one of his customized bombs, though that was a different one, none of the others had ever seen it. Did he make it just for this test mission? It had an eagle's face painted on it.

"That's a cool looking bomb. What did you call it?" - Kaya asked as she took some notes.

"The eagle skydive." - he told her, to which she giggled.

"Eagle skydive? Why?" - she was curious about that peculiar choice for a name.

He just smiled, then he tossed the bomb in the air, lit up his knuckle busters, jumped and smacked the bomb downwards. It immediately shattered into several fragments that pierced through the roof, creating a dotted mark in the form of a perfect circle. Junko landed on the roof near the mark, then pulled the isolated chunk off the ceiling and threw it behind him, leaped inside the fortress and picked the data sphere up.

"Wow... Now that was cool!" - Finn commented, to which Radarr nodded.

Stork lowered a claw to pull the wallop up, back to the landing strip. The flight engineer walked to the landing strip and handed the sphere to Kaya, who smiled at him. The rest of the squadron quickly came to receive their scores.

"Junko, that was awesome!" - the blonde came running from the hangar with Radarr on his heels and Stork walking further behind - "You did know what you were doing."

"Of course, I did." - the wallop responded - "I said I had a plan, and it worked. Even with none of you trusting me."

That remark made Radarr's ears go down. Not that the little guy had said anything, but he wasn't 100% confident in Junko's plan at first, since he had thought of it so quickly, he could have missed some details for not revising his plan.

"It's not that, buddy. It's just that you came up with a plan so fast. I had to think for quite a few minutes to come up with mine in my test." - the sharpshooter admitted - "Just how did you do that?"

"After Kaya explained the test I got the idea to make a new kind of bomb that'd do the trick." - he told him - "That's why I knew what to do within seconds."

"Yes, but you didn't revise your plan. That could've cost us a lot if anything went wrong." - Stork crossed his arms.

"Nothing would go wrong. We've done this before." - the flight engineer defended himself - "Don't you remember when we helped Aerrow and Starling rescue the scientists from Terra Bogaton? We just had to do the same thing like last time."

"You're right, Junko. You had full control of your plan. But Stork does have a point. So remember to give your plan a quick check, to see if it's really fool proof." - Kaya said - "Anyways, let's talk about how well you went: you had really quick thinking and it was a simple plan that everyone could easily follow. You let everyone act on their own and just instructed them to do something when needed. Allowing your team mates to freely do their part in a mission means you're open to ideas too, so that's a good thing. Plus, your cooperative activity was very inspiring and boosted morale. You did a marvelous job, Junko. The others can definitely learn a thing or two from you."

The wallop smiled widely. It was nice knowing he was a capable leader, after all, and that people could count on him if the time comes. Finn put a hand on his shoulder and Radarr gave him a thumbs up. Mr. Softy even came as fast as he could and jumped on his other shoulder, rubbing his little head against his face. Stork seemed neutral as always, but of course he was happy for him, at least a little. The wallop now knew he was a great asset to the team, he enjoyed being reminded he truly belonged there.

"Thanks, guys." - he said.

"Alright, that leaves us with Stork's tests, and then I'll give you all your final scores at the end of the day." - Kaya told them.

They all, except for the merb, exchanged glances smiling. They were quite eager to know how well they went.

* * *

"Uh, sir, is this the training ground for the bridge of the body?" - Aerrow asked after he and Piper had finished pushing themselves on the top of the mountain.

"If that's your perception of this place." - the man said - "What do you feel?"

"What? I... I have no idea, how should I know?" - the sky knight responded.

"Young warrior, I did not ask you what you think, I asked what you feel." - the monk looking elder told him.

"Of course... The training is about how we perceive the world with our other senses." - the girl concluded, to which the man nodded - "From what I can feel... This place is exactly what we'll need."

"Very good, miss. You have a great understanding of what the training is about. I'm sure you'll do well." - he told her.

She smiled softly at the compliment, while Aerrow still seemed a little puzzled about the place. Not that he didn't agree with them that the place was nice and all but... There didn't seem to be much to do there so he couldn't figure out how would that impact their training. Well, it's not like he knew what the training was anyway, so maybe he should wait and see for himself later.

"You two have come here to seek guidance in how to unlock the bridge of the body. This is something very difficult to achieve because the requirements for it are something most normal people cannot truly grasp." - the man explained - "By arriving here you've already passed on two preparation tests, so that is a good thing. But from now on, the training will become a lot harder. Are you two ready for this?"

"You bet we are, we didn't come this far for nothing." - Aerrow told him.

"Very well, then follow me." - the man walked towards the temple - "I am Xhun, the guardian of the Temple of the Masters."

"I'm Piper." - the girl introduced herself as they followed the man.

"And I'm Aerrow." - the boy did the same.

"It's an honor to meet you two. How far have you progressed with the perfect attunement?" - he asked casually.

"Hm, well, we've kind of just begun." - the navigator told him - "Yma helped us master the link of the mind, and then Kaya told us to come see the master in this temple."

"Ah, so you've met an elder master before." - he commented - "There's four of us: Yma, me, Zhir and Wyatsi, who you'll meet later." - he told them - "Our duty is to help aspiring duos to master the bridges from their perfect attunement by contributing with our knowledge."

"How many people have you trained before us?" - the boy asked.

"Hm... We usually see one duo every few centuries... I believe I've trained about fifteen duos or so." - the elder thought about it.

"Wow, you've been around for a long time then." - Aerrow noticed.

"All elders have." - Xhun said - "Though, yes, I've been around long enough to witness some really interesting events and meet incredible people."

The three of them walked inside the temple, where they saw paintings on the walls with images of quite a few people from the past. They all seemed to be fighters and, according to the paintings, they had done amazing feats when they were alive. The people were painted in a way that made them look mighty and legendary.

"Those are all your students?" - Piper asked.

"They're not really students or aspiring duos like you. The people in here are the greatest masters of all the fighting techniques you can think of." - the old man told her - "And all of them have trained in here once, which is why this place is perfect for anyone who wishes to master the bridge of the body."

"They sure give off a nice impression." - the sky knight commented.

"Oh, yes. There's Lyana here, who single handedly scared away the beasts that lurk in the darkness. It's thanks to her that those creatures are under control nowadays." - the elder said - "And this is Harion, who helped keeping the Greatland together during the Great Storms. If it weren't for him, our land would've been scattered into space."

They walked by their paintings as Xhun explained their story. The woman was gracious like a ballerina, but she was certainly deadly. The man was strong and seemed to be very wise too. But then they passed by another painting that drew attention. It was a younger warrior, with spiky blue hair, yellow eyes, wearing a green and blue monk uniform with a cape. While he looked quite mighty showing off his strength and speed in the technique he was performing in the image, Piper saw something else in there. She could feel a deep sad feeling coming from that painting, traces of that person's aura that were giving off enough energy for her to sense. She frowned a little at that.

"What about this one?" - she asked.

"That's Sinjin, the greatest of all the masters." - he said - "He is the most skilled fighter to have ever existed. No one came close to him in combat."

"If he's this good, why does he feel so... Sad?" - she stared again at the painting while holding a hand in front of her heart.

She could sense so much sadness from it she couldn't help but feel sorry for this person. But it was hard to believe someone with all that potential could be such a sad person. Aerrow didn't really see what was so sad about the painting, so he figured it was probably thanks to that Aura Whisperer training Kaya gave her that she was able to see beyond what he could.

"You are correct, his story is indeed a sad one." - Xhun lowered his head to begin - "Sinjin was a prodigy, ever since he was a little boy he trained to become a master at martial arts. As he grew older, he easily outclassed the other masters. But one day, the world needed him to face an impossible odd to protect everyone. He managed to save us all, but he did it through an act he never forgave himself for. From then on, Sinjin swore he'd never fight someone again, in order to atone for his sins. Yet, his love for martial arts prevented him from quitting the training completely, so he trained harder than ever for the rest of his life, until he eventually died after having achieved the highest skill level one could imagine."

"So he spent his whole life punishing himself for what he did wrong?" - she concluded as she felt a lump in her throat.

"That... Is awful... But why? Why couldn't he forgive himself?" - Aerrow was just as upset as the girl about that.

"Because, to save the world, master Sinjin had to take someone's life away." - the elder told them, causing them to look at him surprised and a little terrified as well - "It wasn't his fault, he was being pressured in that fight: it was either that person or all the people from the Atmos. He didn't have a choice. But he still blamed himself for having done that, even though he protected everyone, he felt he shouldn't be considered a hero for such an act."

Aerrow and Piper exchanged glances. While they couldn't imagine themselves ever committing something like that, they couldn't judge him. They didn't know what was at stake at the time, nor how the fight was going. They knew, though, that Sinjin was humble and cared about that enough to feel troubled about it, to the point he punished himself for the rest of his life. Whether what he did to himself was unfair or not wasn't up to them to decide.

"I wish there was something that could've been done to help him." - Piper said.

"Yeah..." - Aerrow agreed.

He understood what meant blaming yourself for something, he had been through that before, but never something that had to do with... Killing. If you kill someone you can't bring them back, and killing yourself won't make any justice, so all you'd be left with is the guilt of what you committed that will stay with you forever. He certainly knew that wasn't a nice feeling.

"Hm, perhaps there is something that can be done for him." - Xhun said to them, drawing their attention, then he walked towards the painting and pulled a block out of the wall that hid a golden chest, which he opened, revealing an amulet - "Young warrior, would you kindly assist me with this?"

"Sure." - the boy walked to the old man as he placed the amulet on his neck - "What are you trying to do?"

"I'm going to summon him here." - he explained - "But traveling from the otherworld to this one requires a lot of energy and it's nearly impossible, so I'll have him borrow some of yours. You'll be almost like a temporary vessel for him." - then he turned around to perform the summoning ritual.

"Wait a second, what do you mean 'vessel'?" - the sky knight asked, but he was interrupted by the strong gust of wind that came from nowhere.

"In this humble ritual of summoning, I request here the presence of Sinjin, the greatest of the masters, so he can be redeemed upon himself!" - the elder shouted.

A strange mist suddenly came from the ceiling and was instantly absorbed by the amulet Aerrow was wearing. The boy was a little alarmed as he felt a lot of energy rushing through him. But soon it was over and a flash of light came from the jewel on his necklace, finishing the ritual.

"Okay, what just happened?" - the sky knight stared at Xhun with a slightly creeped out expression.

Then he noticed Piper staring behind him with a surprised look.

"Aerrow?" - she drew his attention so he'd follow her gaze.

The boy looked at the other side to find a young man standing very close to him: it was the very same monk from the painting. Okay, that was kind of creepy...

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can view Sinjin's profile [here](https://123leyang321.deviantart.com/art/Sinjin-made-with-mouse-only-557753085).


	28. Episode 59 - Part 3

**Episode 59 - The Switcheroo**

**Part 3 - Not So Leader**

When Aerrow saw the deceased guy standing there a little bit too close for comfort, he instinctively jumped away from him like a frightened animal.

"Wow, why are you so scared? You look like you've seen a ghost." - the spirit said.

The boy blinked. Was that supposed to be funny because he was dead?

"I'm not afraid of you, but I didn't expect you to appear right beside me. That'd startle anyone." - the sky knight told him.

"Well, it's not like I could choose where I'd appear when you've dragged me out of the other realm. You should've been prepared for this." - the monk shrugged - "And may I ask what this is all about?"

"Ah, master Sinjin, it's an honor to see you again." - the old man bowed in an oriental fashion.

"Xhun! You haven't changed at all, old friend. I'm glad to see you too." - Sinjin bowed back, though he didn't even smile, which made his statement about being glad almost seem like a lie - "But why have you summoned me?"

"You see, these here are Aerrow and Piper, an aspiring duo that has recently achieved the perfect sync." - Xhun told him - "They were interested in helping you. So I thought having you escorted to the Zenith would be a good idea."

"The Zenith?" - the ghost was surprised and in awe, but then he looked down - "Xhun, you know I don't deserve to go there... And asking people to take me there on a trinket? You're going out of your way for nothing."

"But, master Sinjin..." - the old man tried to reason with him, but was interrupted.

"No, Xhun! Forget this! I knew the price I had to pay the moment I made that decision. And I accepted my punishment. Now leave me alone. Please..." - the spirit lowered his head.

The two Storm Hawks looked a little worried at the elder. Sinjin was being quite harsh with him. But the old monk didn't mind that, he felt too much pity for the deceased young man to be annoyed by his manners, in fact, he was sad that the poor soul kept tormenting himself like that.

"Ah, Xhun? Maybe we should go for our special training now, then. We're kind of expected to be done with it by the end of the day, that's why we came so early." - Aerrow suggested in an attempt to lighten the mood and change the subject.

Piper got his idea and played along.

"I think it'd be best if we started now. And, since Sinjin is already here, he could stay for a little while and watch. Maybe even give us some advice. Just so his trip won't be a waste." - she said.

"I guess you're right. Master Sinjin, would you join us?" - Xhun asked almost expectantly.

"Hm... I do have to wait until the effect of the trinket wears off so I can go back to the other realm." - the ghost pondered - "Very well, I'll stay for now."

The three smiled after hearing that. If he didn't want to go with them, he could at least watch them, right? It'd not be so bad, he had to wait anyway, might as well join them in the afternoon instead of doing nothing. The group then walked towards the area where the training would begin.

* * *

On the Condor, the guys were waiting for Stork to come up with a group activity. The merb was simply sitting on the pilot seat, reading a book and working on a small device he had started building. The others just stared at him in anticipation, but nothing happened.

"Uh... Stork? What are we gonna do?" - Junko asked.

"Nothing." - the pilot said.

"Really?" - Finn questioned.

"Do whatever you want, but quietly. And don't disturb my work here." - he spoke without moving his eyes from the device he was tweaking.

The guys exchanged glances and shrugged, then Kaya came walking past them and went straight to the tech expert.

"Stork, you're supposed to coordinate the group in a collective event." - she told him - "If you don't, then you'll fail the test. Everyone did it, so you gotta go through it too."

"Fine..." - he closed the book and put his device somewhere safe - "We'll check on the Condor for maintenance needs."

The Grandmaster smiled as she took some notes. The others observed as the merb picked up a box with some strange tools and followed him down the corridor.

"Mind telling us what we're looking for?" - the blonde asked.

"I've installed a holographic control panel that shifts position once every hour inside the Condor." - the pilot explained - "From my calculations, it should appear right here in 5 seconds."

And just as he said that, five seconds later a blue control panel appeared on the wall in front of them.

"Yeah, you know your stuff." - the sharpshooter commented.

"Now we just have to scan the ship for any problems." - Stork said as he pressed some buttons on the panel, soon, a scan went through the entire ship, causing the others to blink a little startled as the light passed through them, then the panel returned the message saying everything was okay - "There, it's done. We don't need to do anything in the ship. Activity ends here."

The other Storm Hawks looked bored as ever and Kaya cleared her throat a little irritated and impatient. Didn't he get he was being evaluated on a test?

"C'mon, Stork. You gotta think of something to do." - the wallop insisted.

The merb sighed.

"We'll do some tweaks on the ship, then. Just because there aren't issues it doesn't mean we can't improve a few things here and there." - he finally decided - "We're in need of better cannons, shields and some more improved features."

"You're doing well now, just divide the work among the team." - the little girl stimulated him.

"You two will work on the towers." - he pointed at Finn and Junko, then turned to Radarr - "And you and I'll test the shields. We'll meet on the bridge to work together on the other features."

"Finally something to do in this Boredomland." - the blonde said, and he turned around to walk, patting on the wallop's shoulder - "Let's go, big buddy."

The flight engineer smiled and followed him to the canons.

* * *

Back at the temple, Xhun had begun Aerrow and Piper's special training so they could master the bridge of the body.

"The first part of the training is very important. It'll test how much you know each other and how you perceive one another. If you lack knowledge, you'll gain some wisdom, if you have abilities but don't know how to use them, it'll polish your skills." - the old man explained - "Your test is: sewing an outfit for your partner."

"Wait, we gotta make clothes from scratch?" - Aerrow questioned him, to which he nodded - "But... We don't even know how to sew. At least, not that well."

"My sewing skills are pretty much patching up our old clothes to keep them together... And now I got rustier than ever since we started wearing these improved uniforms." - Piper gestured to her armor.

"Why, that's what the wisdom you'll gain is for. You're going to learn. But there's one more thing: just like you've got here without the use of your vision, you'll be doing this blindly as well." - the elder told them.

"So you expect us to guess each other's measures?" - the navigator was skeptical about that, after all, how would that help them?!

"It's all a matter of how much you know each other. All you need is..." - the man was going to explain when he was interrupted by Sinjin.

"Xhun, wait... Just what are you two?" - the spirit asked.

"What kind of question is that?" - the sky knight looked at him with a weirded out expression.

The ghost gave him a look that made it seem like he was insisting on having an answer one way or another, but upon seeing the boy didn't get what the question was about, he sighed.

"Siblings? Cousins? Married?" - he amended, to which he two shook their heads in disbelief.

"Hah, we don't look anything alike, we're not related." - the girl said - "And do we look like we're even old enough to be married?"

"In my time, young ladies at your age were already mothers in a family." - Sinjin told her - "Can't help but ask, though men were usually older than him. But I believe anything is possible after what I've seen in my life." - he pondered - "Anyways, you still didn't answer me."

"Uh, I don't know... We're friends?" - the boy said like he was stating the obvious.

"Hm... This is not gonna work like that, Xhun." - the spirit monk said - "They're on a different level. They need to start with the basics first."

"Perhaps you are right. Maybe this wasn't the optimal order for them to master the four bridges. But they've already come a long way to get here, so let's not waste their time." - Xhun agreed - "We'll start with basic perception training, then. Come here, you two, and stand one on each half of this mark."

The man was pointing at the symbol of perfect balance, the Yin-Yang. Piper stood over the Yin half while Aerrow stood on the Yang half, both back to back, according to Xhun's instructions, so they'd not be able to use their vision to aid them.

"First, you'll have to learn how to observe your surroundings through sensing the sound, temperature, feel and smell of where you are." - the elder said.

The two teenagers stood there silently, with their eyes closed. Their task was to create a mental map of the area by their blind perception of it. After quite a while, their senses were finally put to the test.

"I think they studied the place long enough, we better check if they managed to map it." - Sinjin suggested.

"Very well. Young ones, I'll begin the test, switch positions and keep your eyes closed." - Xhun told them, and after they were done moving, he started - "Where is the tree with the golden leaves?"

Piper pointed to her left and Aerrow pointed to his right. Both were pointing exactly at the tree they were asked about.

"Good! How did you know that?" - he asked.

"The sound of the leaves gave the tree's position away." - the boy said.

"Heh, they're getting the hang of it." - the spirit crossed his arms amused.

"Where does the wind come from now?" - the elder did the second test.

"From the north." - the two Storm Hawks answered in unison.

"Correct. And why?"

"It's possible to feel the magnetic pull from the north in this temple, and the wind is coming from that same direction." - the girl explained.

"That is right. And last question: about what time is it?"

"Two in the afternoon." - the girl began, then the boy amended quickly - "More or less."

"Yeah, you guessed it. How?" - the ghost monk asked.

"From the time we spent here, we could notice the Sun changing position." - Aerrow told them.

"Yes. We came here in the morning, the Sun was above our heads over an hour ago, now it's not, so it's a little past mid-day already." - Piper finished.

"Very good. You two have passed the basic perception test." - Xhun said as the two walked to him.

"Well, I'll admit, I'm impressed. That was one of the fastest times yet, and you can bet I've seen many try this." - Sinjin complimented them.

Aerrow and Piper exchanged glances. They did it! Now that was some progress. If they kept that way, they'd be able to master the bridge by the end of the day! Well, hopefully, that is. They didn't really know how many more tests they'd still have to go through.

"In the next training lesson, we'll use both your newly acquired abilities. Please, put these blindfolds." - Xhun gave them two black pieces of cloth so they could tie them around their heads, covering their eyes - "Your sensorial perception will tell you about your partner's measures, and you'll use the psychic bond to project them in your mind. Then I'll test if you were accurate with your projections."

They were given a few minutes to concentrate on the task. After being able to somehow guess what each other looked like, the elder prompted them to test their skills.

"First, gesture to your partner's head." - he told them.

The two moved at the same time, which caused them to bump their arms on one another. They quickly retreated a little embarrassed by their own clumsiness.

"Uh... You go first." - Aerrow said, to which Piper giggled sheepishly.

"So, ready now?" - Xhun asked, and she nodded - "Head." - he said, and the girl gestured to the sky knight's head accurately - "Correct. Shoulders. Correct. Elbows. Correct. Hands. Correct. Knees. Correct. Feet. Correct. Heart. Correct. Very well, you did it perfectly. Now let's see how your friend will go."

"You can do it, Aerrow." - the navigator gave him some confidence.

"Head. Correct. Shoulders. Correct. Elbows. Correct. Hands. Correct. Knees. Correct. Feet. Correct. Heart." - Xhun was instructing, and at that last one, the boy hesitated a little, not because he didn't know where it was but for other reasons, still, he pointed, from a greater distance, at her heart - "Correct. You learned quickly. Now you two should be ready for the test from earlier." - the elder said as both removed their blindfolds.

"What are we waiting for, then? Let's get to it." - Aerrow said determined.

* * *

Finn and Junko were working on the right tower of the Condor. The first was using a wrench to regulate some screws, in order to adjust the aim of the gun, while the latter was looking for some metallic parts to make a few modifications to its barrel.

"Oh, yeah, now that's what I call aim." - the sharpshooter said - "It's so dead on it can hit a seed on the head of a bird on the top of a tree a mile away."

"Hehe, that's good. Imma give them more firepower. And then they'll blow the whole tree up." - the wallop commented.

"Sure, just let me finish fastening this and..." - the blonde was tightening a bolt when suddenly the nail jumped off the tower and fell through the skies - "Eh... Hehe." - he smiled sheepishly.

Suddenly the gun part started to disassemble itself, nearly knocking Finn over the edge of the platform. He screamed for a brief second, then tried to push the pieces together. Junko quickly ran over to help him and held the gun in position.

"You shouldn't have fastened it too tight, you know." - the flight engineer said - "Fix the other screws while I hold this."

The boy made quick work of all the bolts, reassembling the gun like it should be, though that undid his modifications on the aim.

"Great, now I'll have to adjust the aim all over again." - his shoulders dropped.

"Why don't you let me upgrade the firepower first? This way I won't ruin your work later." - the wallop suggested.

"Yeah, guess that'll do." - Finn shrugged - "Need help?"

"Sure. Help me replace the barrel with this new one I made." - Junko said.

And with that, both went back to working on the tower.

* * *

Stork and Radarr were inside the engine room, where there was a control panel for the improved shields. The merb was by the panel, pulling out some cables from behind it.

"Plug these into the levers over there." - he handed some cables to Radarr.

The little animal climbed a ladder to where the levers were and plugged the cables, one on each lever. Then he gave Stork a thumbs up.

"Good, now align the levers and let go when I turn the circuit on." - he said.

The mission specialist pulled on the levers so they'd all be exactly in the middle, but before he could let go of them, Stork had started the engines. The little guy blinked as he noticed the lights coming up again and the noise of the engines running when he was suddenly electrocuted.

Upon hearing his screams of pain, the pilot quickly turned everything off and looked behind him. The poor animal had some of his fur burned and there was smoke coming out of him. He dizzily lifted his head to look at the merb, then glared at him and growled a little.

"What? I told you to let go of the levers." - he said.

That just made Radarr even more irritated. Yeah... But he didn't warn when he was going to turn the engines on! That also made the animal wonder whether the pilot did that as revenge for earlier. He rolled his eyes. Better not get on that merb's bad side...

Soon they were finally done with tweaking the shields.

"Well, that's what I can do for now." - he said as he dusted his hands off - "On to the other upgrades."

He shoved his hand on his pocket in order to pick up a list of improvements he had thought of, but then the ship shook a lot causing him to lose his footing and Radarr to fall on top of him. The two heard some laughs and quickly ran to the bridge to see what was going on.

Arriving there, they saw Finn and Junko making some tests with the improved towers. And what towers they were, alright: they were twice bigger than before!

"Haha, now you're speaking my language." - the wallop said as he shot at the sky and a much larger and faster blast disappeared into it.

"I bet these things can one shoot any Cyclonian cruiser now." - the blonde commented and shot as well.

The canons had so much firepower they were shaking the whole ship.

"Stop that now!" - Stork yelled angrily after losing his footing thrice in a row, and once the ship finally stabilized, he continued - "What in the world are you doing?!"

"What else? We're improving the canons." - the sharpshooter smiled as he aimed once again - "Check this out!"

But before he could shoot, the merb suddenly pulled the barrel of the tower downwards, to prevent him from doing anything.

"No! Don't you dare shoot with this thing!" - he shouted - "Undo this right now!"

"What? Why? It's about time we caught up with them in firepower." - the wallop gestured to the sky, referring to their enemies - "What's the problem?"

"If you haven't noticed, the Condor isn't meant to be a heavy shooter. She's a light armored cruiser meant for speed and flanking!" - the pilot told them - "These canons have the worst recoil ever! They're pushing the ship around like a ragdoll. I can't fly her that way."

"Aww... But we were just trying to make some improvements." - Junko lowered his ears, his eyes grew like a sad puppy's, and Finn seemed to be disappointed as well.

"Fine... Take 50% of the extra power you added off. I guess the Condor might handle that then." - Stork finally decided.

The other two's faces lit up at that. Well, at least they could get something done their way, even if partially.

"Okay, this should take only a few minutes. And after that, what's next?" - the blonde asked.

"Other customized modifications." - the merb said - "I have notes of Aerrow's suggestions for improved weapon systems and Piper's idea of a bigger lab. We'll work around those and anything else that comes to mind."

"Does that mean we can have a dance floor then?" - Finn asked almost expectantly.

"No. We're not gonna build a dance floor." - the green skinned humanoid said unimpressed.

"But you just said we'd work on anything that comes to mind!" - the sharpshooter objected.

"Anything _useful_ that comes to mind." - the pilot emphasized.

Finn crossed his arms and walked away pouting. Hmpf! Nobody ever accepted his ideas... Junko patted his back supportively, so he'd not feel so bad, but that didn't make much of a difference. They followed the merb down the corridor so they could start. Kaya smiled at them from a corner in the bridge, then took some more notes.

* * *

Back at the temple, Xhun had given the two Storm Hawks the very first test again. They were meant to craft clothes for each other, and they seemed to be having a hard time making any progress.

"Just remember your previous training and you'll know what to do." - the old man said.

"Uh, no, I won't. I might know her measures, but that doesn't mean I can sew an outfit." - Aerrow retorted a little irritated as he lifted his amazingly awful piece of cloth he was crafting.

"Well, you really lack talent for that." - Sinjin commented, to which the boy just stared at him unimpressed in return - "And for someone who said she was rusty, your friend's doing fairly well." - he nodded towards the girl.

The sky knight saw the navigator was indeed doing a much better job than him. She had already gotten to making a piece of cloth that didn't fall apart completely like his. Kind of unfair that she was going to give him at least a decent outfit, while he couldn't even come up with wearable clothes. He stared a little upset and disappointed at his work. Sinjin was right, he had no skill at sewing whatsoever. He envied Piper's versatility... Did he want to know how to do many things like she did.

"That's because she knows a little bit of everything. And at least she did practice sewing before." - he said.

"She also knows how to imagine things differently, while you seemingly don't. At least, not in this regard." - the spirit responded.

"And I suppose you know-it-all have a better understanding than I do, then?" - the boy said cynically.

"As a matter of fact, I do." - the deceased monk crossed his arms - "You need a new angle."

He took off his cape and walked towards Piper like he was minding his own business, then he suddenly knelt near her and placed his cape around her, like a very short dress.

"Excuse me." - he said without really waiting for her answer.

"Huh? What are you doing?" - she was startled by that sudden proximity.

"Don't worry, I cannot physically touch you. I'm just helping your friend open his eyes." - he assured her, showing absolutely no interest in even thinking of doing something she'd not approve. He was dead, after all, why'd he even want to try anything? What was there to try?

Then he stood up with his cape in the form of a small mannequin and walked back towards Aerrow.

"What did you...?" - the read haired boy was about to inquire, but was interrupted.

"Here, an angle." - the spirit said as he gestured to the floating cape in the form of a very short dress with Piper's measures.

Aerrow blinked, then looked at the ghost with a skeptical and slightly confused expression. So that was his brilliant plan? Hah... Like that would make any differenc- Wait a second... And it was then that he was struck by an idea. He raised an eyebrow at the spirit.

"So you knew all along, didn't you?" - the leader said, getting the hint.

"Of course. You're clearly more of a practical thinker than a theoretical one." - Sinjin commented - "I found out even more, actually, things I'm surprised you two haven't noticed yet. But I suppose you'll learn everything when the right time comes."

"Wait, wait. What's it we haven't noticed?" - the sky knight asked, after all, it could be something important, but the spirit simply shook his head.

"What part of 'you'll know when the time comes' you didn't get?" - the deceased monk retorted - "Don't rush it, if you figure out everything too soon, you'll mess up your training. Now you better start working on your part, because your friend is nearly done with hers." - he pointed a thumb at Piper, who was indeed almost finished.

The boy frowned unimpressed, but decided it'd be best to quickly get his part done, plus, it seemed he simply couldn't win an argument with that ghost. It was like arguing with Piper, that guy was smarter than him. Hmpf, of course, he had experienced and learned much more than he did...

A few more minutes later and Aerrow had finally finished crafting an outfit. He had made a top with the collar tied around the neck and a pair of shorts and one semi skirt on the back and another on the front.

"I guess it's alright." - the boy said.

"Alright? Took you long enough, alright." - the ghost told him - "It's weird that you actually do have some talent with handcraft but your sewing skills are awful."

Aerrow realized what Sinjin was referring to once he followed the direction of his stare at a very specific point: a tiny blue crystal.

"How did you know?" - he inquired.

"Well, it's hard not to see that when your energy is all over it." - the spirit shrugged - "Has anyone ever said you could make a living with that?"

"Uh... Not that I recall." - Aerrow replied.

"Then give it a thought someday. Even if as just a hobby." - Sinjin suggested.

The boy simply blinked, not sure what did that have to do with anything. Then his attention was drawn by Xhun's voice calling him.

"Well, the time is up. Please bring your attires over here." - the elder said.

The two Storm Hawks walked to him and showed what they had made: Piper had tailored a pair of trunks that would reach right above Aerrow's knees, while he had made the top and the shorts with two semi skirts.

"Ah, very good, both of you. Now get dressed so we can start the process of mastering the Link of the Body." - the old man told them.

* * *

Back in the Condor, the team had finally finished the new upgrades to the ship. They had installed a brand new weapon system, improved the lab and made a few tweaks on the engines, to make the cruiser faster.

"Well, time to test the auto aimed weapons." - Stork said as he looked at Junko standing on the right tower's platform.

The wallop nodded and threw a target with a Cyclonian symbol in the sky.

"Uh... Are you sure it's okay for me to be out here?" - Finn asked as he flew on his skimmer.

"Of course. I installed a Friend or Foe detector on the Condor. She's supposed to be able to recognize you as a friend." - the merb explained - "In any case, you'll be the official accuracy test subject."

The pilot pressed a button in the control panel near the helm, activating the system. Several tiny missile launchers appeared from small holes on the hull and were shot in the sky.

"What?!" - the blonde blinked in disbelief.

When he saw the huge cloud of missiles coming down at him like rain he screamed in fright and cowered to protect himself. However, the missiles never hit him, they narrowly avoided him and went straight to the Cyclonian marked target, annihilating it. He observed as the target was completely destroyed and turned into dust in a matter of seconds.

"Haha, wow! It worked!" - the flight engineer cheered.

"Good. Now on to test 2." - Stork said.

"No! No, no, no, no, no! I will _not_ be a test subject again!" - Finn yelled as he quickly flew back to the hangar bay.

"Why? C'mon, the missiles didn't even scratch you." - Junko insisted.

"Yeah, but they could have!" - the sharpshooter retorted while he got off his skyride - "Didn't you see what they did to the target?"

"What target?" - Kaya remarked as she checked some items on the list.

"Exactly!" - the blonde shouted.

"Well, I guess we'll have to make the final test later." - Stork shrugged - "Now the improved lab. The scanners indicate it's fully operational. We didn't make it bigger, but it's more advanced, with the production rate at 120%."

"Alright, the cooperative activity is finished now, then." - the Grandmaster said - "You did a great job, Stork. Even though it took a few pushes to make you actually do something."

"I'm not the leader kind of person. And I prefer doing things by myself." - the merb told her.

"Yeah? Like cleaning the bathroom?" - Junko retorted, reminding him of how he requested assistance when he was in charge of cleaning the bathroom the last time they did their spring cleaning, to which Stork rolled his eyes.

"You still have your tactical and combat leading test to go through, so just stop complaining so much and get it over with. Simple." - the little girl pointed out.

"Fine... What's the test gonna be?" - the pilot mumbled.

"Good news: it's something you'll most likely do very well. Bad news: you can't pilot the Condor. You'll have to do it like Aerrow and take charge of the front line." - she explained.

"So you'll have me play the sky knight on a skimmer...?" - he questioned.

"It can be any skyride, even your Storkmobile, just not the ship." - the Grandmaster told him - "This way you'll learn how to be more present in the battlefield, because you're always behind in the Condor, hidden from everything."

"I don't have a choice, do I?" - he sighed.

"Not on this." - she said - "But you'll get to choose who pilots the Condor and who goes with you into battle."

"I'd rather have the Condor on the auto-pilot..." - the green skinned humanoid mumbled - "But fine... Radarr'll pilot her."

The little guy chirped happily at that, while the other two Storm Hawks exchanged confused glances.

"So you trust him on the helm more than us?" - Finn asked in disbelief.

"Well, he was the one who piloted us out of the Great Expanse." - the carrier pilot remarked - "I'd say that's convincing enough for me."

"Yeah? But I was the only one able to pilot her when your merb scouts screwed her over!" - the blonde retorted - "And I had to fly her upside down!"

"Nothing that couldn't easily be fixed. Facing the Sky Siren was far more dangerous." - the merb crossed his arms.

The sharpshooter looked away angrily in defeat. Ugh! He wanted a chance to pilot too! And as if Radarr could do a better job than him or Junko.

"Then it's decided. Now I'll explain your test." - Kaya said as she gestured to what she had prepared for them - "Over there is a Cyclonian squadron of A.I. dummies. You gotta take out their commander and catch their treasure from the crate inside their cargo ship, without having your commander, Stork, and your treasure, Mr. Softy, taken down or conquered."

"So it's like chess. You can't lose the king." - Stork assumed.

"Yep. That, and I'll be recording your time, so you better make all your moves count." - the girl told him as she showed him a chronometer - "Ready when you are. Any questions?"

"I was gonna ask why our treasure is a slimy caterpillar while theirs is a crate, but I don't really wanna know the answer." - the merb shrugged - "And, I already figured out how to play this game."

"Very well, then let's get started." - she said as she pressed a button on her chronometer.

* * *

A couple of minutes after having passed their sewing test, Aerrow and Piper were wearing their outfits and were ready to get into position.

"You did a pretty good job on these. They fit perfectly." - the girl said to him as she checked herself out.

"Yeah, you too." - he let her know her piece of cloth was also comfortable and well crafted.

They stood in front of Xhun in order to take their last test and finally master this new bridge. That was it, that was the time to overcome one more challenge.

"This is the final test, by passing, you'll have mastered the Link of the Body and will be able to use it at will." - the elder explained - "Unlike the Link of the Mind, the Link of the Body doesn't need consent to work, but since it's your first time, you might want to give each other a hand and offer sharing your senses." - he laughed a little, causing the others to smile - "Sit here, facing each other, and concentrate on the bridge."

The two sat down to perform the test. They closed their eyes in order to focus on their other senses to make things a little easier. Their objective was to reach for the bridge, like last time. They emptied their minds and hearts of anything that could cloud their perception. After a little while, they could feel a tingling sensation all over their skins, like there was really some sort of bridge being formed between them. Soon the bridge was starting to solidify and their essences materialized on top of it, completely isolated from the real world.

"That's it, very good. You're almost there. Just remember, when the bridge is stable, you'll be able to pretty much walk across it and lend and borrow your senses." - Xhun said.

From inside the isolated bridge, Aerrow and Piper exchanged confused glances.

' _Did he say we should walk across the bridge?_ ' - she asked.

' _I don't know, I couldn't hear him very well because of this strange barrier around us._ ' - he told her.

' _Maybe it's so we'll be able to mutually share our senses?_ ' - she suggested.

' _I guess you're right, let's give it a try, then._ ' - he decided.

Both walked across the bridge ending up on each other's end. Xhun and Sinjin watched confused. Well, the elder actually just perceived them since he couldn't see per se.

"Xhun, are they really supposed to do that?" - the spirit asked.

"I... Don't think so. It's been quite a few centuries since the last time people mastered this bridge. My memory is slipping me a little." - the elder said as he shook his head.

Suddenly, the bridge disappeared and both their essences were sucked back into their bodies. They turned to Xhun upon noticing him humming out loud in thought as he analyzed them.

"No, it didn't work." - he said bluntly.

"What do you mean?" - Piper asked, drawing their attention.

Aerrow stared at her with wide eyes, and it was then that he realized what had happened.

"Uh, Piper, you might want to take a look at yourself." - he said, and when she saw him, she frantically looked at her own body - "Or should I say... Myself."

That was right. They had switched bodies. Upon noticing she was in the body of a guy, Piper couldn't help but scream in fright. Now that was really creepy!

 


	29. Episode 59 - Part 4

 

 

 

**Episode 59 - The Switcheroo**

**Part 4 - Of Ninjas and Spinning Tops**

Piper's voice screamed as it came out of Aerrow's body, causing the others to blink and the boy to wince uncomfortably in her body.

"What... What happened?!" - she frantically studied her now Caucasian and male body.

"You two crossed the bridge completely and exchanged bodies." - Xhun explained like that was obvious.

"But we thought you were telling us to walk across!" - Aerrow said.

"No. I did say you'd be able to pretty much walk across, but I never said you _should_ do that." - the elder told them.

"Well, we couldn't hear a thing with that thick barrier around us." - he defended.

"I guess I'm a little at fault as well." - the old man admitted.

"That doesn't matter right now. How can we reverse this?" - the navigator asked.

"We'll need some time to figure this out." - Xhun put a hand on his chin in thought - "But there's one problem: you cannot remain like that for too long, or you'll be stuck with your exchanged bodies forever."

"Ah... Figures..." - the sky knight rolled Piper's eyes.

"You've got to be kidding. If we don't hurry we'll have to stay like this?!" - the girl said to the elder as she gestured to herself in Aerrow's body - "I... I can't be a... A guy!"

"Hey! My body's not that bad! I mean... I don't think it is." - the boy retorted for a brief second, but then he quickly retreated and sighed - "To be honest, I'm actually starting to feel a little better with your body, even creeped out as much as you are... And soon you'll know why."

The girl looked at him with a questioning expression for a moment, then she blinked.

"Okay... I guess I'm already starting to get it." - she winced a little bit since she found out something she never knew about him before, which kind of made her feel sorry for him.

Suddenly, Sinjin began laughing a lot, finding that situation hilarious. Piper frowned and held her, or rather, Aerrow's arms with his hands.

"That's not funny." - she said.

"Of course it is. I've never heard of such a disaster in this test before." - the deceased monk commented - "You two are the first ones to totally mess this up. Congratulations."

Then he proceeded to laugh some more. The crystal mage was feeling very embarrassed and the leader was just annoyed.

"You know, I'm impressed you're able to laugh at all, considering perking a little smile seemed to be too much for you." - he remarked, causing the spirit to quiet down.

"And _you_ know, after all I've been through, I believe I have the right to laugh at something at least once." - the ghost crossed his arms.

"We've been having it rough too, but we didn't use it as an excuse to laugh at _your_ tragedy." - Aerrow got up and pointed a finger at Sinjin, which made Piper stand up too and walk towards him in order to attempt to soothe him if he got any angrier.

"Well, then laugh." - the monk said calmly, which caused the boy in the girl's body to blink - "Laugh until your heart is content. I won't mind, it's been way too long ago to mourn anything now. I'm already dead and all I can do is watch my dreadful past over and over. Adding some humor to it is a good thing."

The leader didn't know how to respond to that. That guy managed to bring the tone of the conversation to such depressing levels that it felt almost like guilt tripping. The navigator walked beside the sky knight, looking at the ghost in sympathy.

"It doesn't have to be like this. Being dead doesn't prevent you from making a difference, after all, you're still here, aren't you?" - she said.

The spirit stared at her speechless, and the boy and the elder were quite surprised. It was the first time someone had made Sinjin go completely silent and not know how to answer. Well, first time in ages, at least, since Xhun knew more about his past than the others, but still, that was quite the achievement. The girl was certainly good with words.

Then she turned to her partner standing near her.

"C'mon, Aerrow. Let's find out how to go back to normal and master this bridge." - she told him - "The others are waiting for us."

"Right." - he nodded determined, and both walked towards the temple along with Xhun to go search for clues.

The two couldn't help but feel extremely uncomfortable, though, having a girl walking like a guy and a boy walking effeminate was definitely creepy. There was a point when they actually started to move completely stiff so they'd walk more normally, but that just made it all more awkward. Yeah, that was going to be an embarrassing day.

The deceased warrior stayed behind in the open area. He looked at the sky, several thoughts rushing by his mind. Maybe... There was still time to do something...

* * *

Back where the guys were training with Kaya, the carrier pilot walked inside the hangar bay and motioned for the others to follow him, while Radarr went straight to the bridge. Stork had Mr. Softy hide near some crates by Piper's lab. The merb and the other two flew out, heading for the Cyclonian fleet.

"So, what's your plan?" - Junko asked.

"You two will distract them while I'll flank the commander." - Stork told them - "Radarr will guard the treasure and snipe some of them from a distance. And after capturing the commander we'll use him as our way in on their cargo ship."

"Yeah... Sounds like something." - Finn mumbled.

"Hey, you guys, since you're on your skyrides now, why don't you try some of the aerial moves I've been telling you to learn?" - Kaya shouted to them from the balcony where she was evaluating their performance.

"Are you sure? That's more like Aerrow's thing." - the wallop said.

"C'mon, of course you can pull that off, it's not so hard." - she supported them - "Why don't you try that crazy spiral move Aerrow did with Radarr? You can use the auto-pilot too."

The sharpshooter and the flight engineer were already approaching the talons as Stork stayed behind and went the other way in order to flank them. Junko looked at the squadron of enemies, then at Kaya, then back at the Cyclonians. He sighed unsure.

"Here goes nothing." - he said as he pushed the button to turn the auto-pilot on.

He activated his knuckle busters and sprinted to the tip of the top left wing of his skimmer. He did it exactly like Aerrow had done, but it didn't play out the same way at all. Since he was a lot heavier than the sky knight, the skimmer spun a lot faster than the original move, not only that, but the auto-pilot wasn't the same thing as having a co-pilot follow your lead, since instead of moving towards the Cyclonians, the skimmer remained in its position, hovering in the air while it rotated so fast Junko became a brown blur with his green knuckle buster's light on the outside.

Finn saw that and got an idea. He shot a few times towards the Cyclonian dummies to draw their attention. When they flew after him, he dragged them to the spinning skyride of doom. At the moment he was about to collide with Junko, he quickly few upwards and then downwards, narrowly avoiding him, but the talons didn't have that fast of a reaction, so they crashed into the wallop and their rides were ultimately destroyed.

"Good teamwork, you two!" - the Grandmaster complimented them - "Finn, your turn to show some moves! Go jumping on those switchblades!"

"What?! I'm a sharpshooter, not a ninja!" - the blonde responded.

No way was he going to do that! _Aerrow_ was the crazy one who liked pulling stunts off, not him! But Kaya seemed to disagree with him.

"Stop making excuses, just jump already." - she said.

"I'm not making excuses!" - he retorted - "And as if I could do that anyways."

"Of course you can. If Aerrow can do that, so can you!" - she shouted, then she turned to Radarr inside the bridge - "This last part isn't really true, it's the other way around: Aerrow can do anything Finn can. But a white lie might spark his spirits." - she winked, to which the little animal rolled his eyes playfully in agreement, then she activated her staff - "C'mon, Finn, all you need is a little push!"

The Cyclonian cruiser suddenly aimed its canons at the sharpshooter and shot several blasts at him. He was ultimately hit by one of them, which destroyed the front part of his skimmer. He gasped as he saw the damage.

"You've got to be kidding me! That thing's for real?!" - he shouted in disbelief.

Then, when gravity finally proceeded to pull him downwards he managed to throw himself at a switchblade. Barely able to hold himself on its wing, he pushed himself up as another blast from the enemy ship came his way. He screamed and quickly jumped to another Cyclonian skyride. He kept leaping while the shots destroyed the enemy rides in a careless rain of friendly fire.

"Hahaha! Look at you, Finn! You're looking almost like Aerrow!" - the girl said - "Well, actually he looks way cooler since he's not so clumsy like you. But that's a good start."

* * *

Back at the temple, Xhun took Aerrow and Piper to the huge library of the temple. The two stared quite mesmerized at all those books.

"Wow, that's quite a lot of books." - the sky knight commented.

The navigator walked by a shelf and noticed something peculiar.

"Hm... The books don't seem to have labels or covers to identify them." - she said.

"No, they don't. We'll have to search them all to figure out which one has the answers." - the elder told them.

They immediately grimaced at that.

"You can't be serious... There must be thousands of books in here!" - Aerrow said.

"There's no way we'll be able to read them all until it's too late." - Piper reinforced his point.

"I really doubt the book we need will be the last one we'll come across." - the old man said calmly - "The chances of that are the same as of it being the very first one."

The two blinked. He had a valid point. Though everyone knows it's almost never the very first book... And it was then that Piper picked up one book and read it.

"Okay, now this was pure luck." - she said as she showed them what she had found: the exact book they were looking for - a complete "manual" about the training they were doing.

"See? I told you we'd not need to read them all." - Xhun said.

The other two exchanged knowing glances.

"Well, let's see what this book tells us about how to fix this body switch." - the leader approached the girl in his body and poked his head from behind her to take a look at the book.

They spent quite a while reading that really long book. It definitely had at least one thousand pages. It'd speak about the history of the perfect attunement and all its links, how many people were known to have achieved it, who used to be the first masters and many other facts. While it did have lots of information they needed, it wasn't in anyway an objective book, so it took sometime to find what they were looking for.

"I think I found something." - the crystal mage told them as she proceeded to read - "There's some kind of ritual meant to make the essences go to their respective bodies, but it's very complicated." - she explained - "It requires a lot of materials that seem to be hard to find and we also must acquire full knowledge of our bodies."

"Let me 'see'." - Xhun took the book from her so he could check the list of materials, he ran his hand by the paper - "I believe I might be able to gather all the items needed for the ritual here in the temple, but it'll take a little while. Why don't you two work on the part about knowing each other better in the meantime?"

"Wait a second, you don't mean it like that, right?" - Aerrow cringed for a moment as he hesitantly eyed his female body down.

"Oh, don't you dare..." - Piper suddenly gave him a warning as she quickly caught on his line of thinking.

"What?! Of course I won't!" - he immediately responded feeling almost ridiculous - "One'd think it's more than clear now I'm not that kind of guy after all we've been through." - he crossed her arms and looked away a little irritated.

He couldn't believe she thought he'd do such a thing! That was just plain absurd!

"I know... It's just... This day is being so crazy, I can't help but feel really creeped out right now." - she rubbed both his arms uneasily.

His expression softened at that. She had a point, who could blame her? That whole ordeal was more embarrassing than anything they've ever done. They were lucky not many people were watching that.

"Yeah, you're right. But don't worry, I won't try anything. You can trust me with your body." - he attempted to reassure her, but then he blinked at how awfully phrased was the last part of what he had said - "Wait... That came out wrong."

Piper simply giggled at that. He definitely proved he was trustworthy, specially after his poorly phrased remark and the fact he acknowledged that.

"It's alright, I trust you." - she told him.

He smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of her head with her hand out of his own habit when he blinked in a brand new realization.

"Wow... Your hair is... Really soft, as in, really, really soft." - he said as he stared at her hand quite impressed, then looked at her almost as if he were kind of curious on how she kept it that way, it felt so silky!

"Oh, ah, thanks. I actually use a shampoo recipe I made myself..." - she told him, then she lowered his head - "By the way, about what you said earlier... I had no idea you still felt your bones like they were broken. I thought the nil crystal had fixed you up completely, but apparently it left a scar."

"It's okay. It doesn't really hurt. It still feels weird, but I eventually got used to it." - he shrugged - "Though I kinda miss not having that sensation, specially now that I'm temporarily in your body."

"Temporarily. You speak like you're so sure we'll get back to normal." - she said.

"Of course we will. We've always overcome any challenge and Xhun is here to help us too, right?" - he said optimistically.

"Definitely. And you're already progressing to have this fixed. You're acquiring the knowledge you'll need." - the elder said.

"You mean this little chat is gonna help?" - Piper questioned him.

"Of course. You're gaining closure and you're learning something new, aren't you?" - the old man asked a rhetorical question.

"I guess that makes sense." - Aerrow said.

"Then I'll leave you two at that while I fetch the materials for the ritual." - Xhun proceeded to walk away - "I'm certain you'll have plenty of knowledge when I get back, but good luck, nonetheless."

Piper smiled, some hope flashing in her.

"We better get to it then." - she turned to Aerrow.

"Alright, let's see..." - the sky knight put the navigator's hand on her chin - "You seem to have some burn marks on your waist and belly. At least I can feel there's something wrong here. What happened?"

"It's from my first fight with Cyclonis... She attacked me with her crystals. But it wasn't anything serious." - she told him.

"Hm... And you said she hadn't hurt you, huh?" - he crossed her arms - "Even if it wasn't serious, being burned is pretty painful."

"More like electrocuted, but that's in the past now. And you've got some marks on your head yourself." - she put his fists on his hips - "I also noticed you seem to see better with your right eye than with your left one." - she placed a hand in front of one eye and then in front of the other.

"You can have the Dark Ace to thank for that one. He blasted me in the face once. And there was also Jake, who did that too, and worsened the condition..." - he admitted.

"I think we should get you healed again." - she suggested.

"It wouldn't work, scars don't heal. Though I might recover my vision..." - he pondered.

"Of course. It's worth a shot, regardless." - she told him.

He smiled in agreement. It'd definitely be great finally having his vision working fully again.

* * *

Kaya turned her attention to Junko who was still whirling like a spinning top. She couldn't believe he had stayed like that all that time.

"I'm... Getting... Dizzy... And... I think... I feel... A little... Sick..." - the wallop said through the many spins.

She giggled.

"Just throw your weight backwards. It'll slow the skimmer down until it stops." - she told him.

He listened and pushed himself backwards as much as he could, considering he was so dizzy he could barely hold onto the skimmer anymore. The skyride finally started slowing down and came to a stop. The wallop remained down, almost passed out from all that spinning. The little girl quickly flew to him to check on him.

"You okay, Junko?" - she put a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm not feeling so well..." - he said as he lowered his head.

"Don't worry, just remain still for a while and it'll pass." - she told him - "I'll stay here with you for now."

Meanwhile, Finn was still jumping from one switchblade to another like a frog in a frenzy, and the Cyclonian cruiser wouldn't stop following him around.

"You know, I'd really like to have some _help_ from the Condor right now!" - he shouted.

Radarr shook his head and brought the ship closer. He came from behind the Cyclonian ship and proceeded to shoot at it, in order to draw their attention. The enemy cruiser quickly focused on the bigger threat, but not before sending one last shot at Finn, which made him jump from the last switchblade in the area. He screamed as he fell... And landed on Stork's customized skyride. The merb screamed from the fright for a moment, then glared at the blonde.

"Couldn't you find a better place to land?" - he asked rhetorically.

"Like I could choose where to fall!" - the sharpshooter responded angrily.

"Forget it, let's just get this over with." - the pilot said as he quickly flew them over to the cargo hold of the Cyclonian ship.

Near the hangar bay, the Cyclonian commander was guarding the entrance to the cargo hold. The dummy was alone, but the skyride was not like the others: it had some missile launchers under the wings, so they'd have to be extra careful.

"Great... How do we get past him without being blown up to pieces?" - Finn asked as he held onto the Storkmobile.

"I've got a plan." - the merb told him, then he pushed a button that activated a force field around the buggy.

Suddenly he crazily charged forward with the skyride, the blonde screaming in fright, and they crashed against the commander. Fortunately, they didn't suffer any kind of damage because of the shield around them, but still, that wasn't any less scary.

"Are you insane?! You could've crushed me!" - the sharpshooter shouted.

"Yes. But I didn't." - the pilot said simply and flew them to the landing strip.

Finally, they landed there and Finn quickly headed for the crate and lifted it above his head to signal that they had done it. It was then that all the holograms disappeared and they found themselves standing on just a platform.

"Very good, all of you!" - Kaya told them - "And you're a much better strategist than you let on, Stork. Now let's meet up in the bridge so I'll give you your final scores."

* * *

Back in the temple, Aerrow and Piper were gathering the knowledge they'd need, though for them that felt more like a normal conversation than an actual task, since they were having quite the fun despite all the confusion that had happened. They had learned a lot of new things about each other, and they still had more to tell.

"This feels almost awkward to admit, but... You can lick your elbow right now." - Aerrow rubbed her hand against her head.

"You're kidding..." - she then looked at his arm and noticed it was true - "Wow, you really can! How do you do that? It's usually impossible."

"I don't really know. I found out because of Finn, we used to challenge each other in the silliest things." - he shrugged, to which she giggled.

"Well, I too can do something of the sort, try bending your tongue." - she told him.

He tried and, yes, the girl was able to bend her tongue, not only that but twist it as well.

"Yeah, looks like I'm not the only one with these weird side skills." - he smiled - "You actually have one more, you can move your ears." - he then moved her ears.

"So can you!" - she said as she also moved his ears.

They laughed at how ridiculous they looked doing that. They were acting almost like two little kids trying to show who could do the weirdest things with their bodies. Sinjin observed them from a distance. They were so natural and so lively, even though they had a lot of responsibility on their shoulders, they were taking all that so well. They'd lighten up the burden for each other, they'd help one another to stand up and keep moving forward, until they'd finally get to their objective, together... Like the two halves of one whole they were: they had the very same essences indeed.

All that made him feel like meeting his other half too, who he knew was waiting for him in the Zenith. And his only way to get there had come to his doorstep offering him a lift... Maybe... Maybe he should get rid of his pride and stubbornness and just get that done with at once. Yet... The thought of him becoming a burden himself crossed his mind after he humbled himself down. And at that moment he no longer knew what to do.

Xhun then appeared with a basket full of different things they were going to use for the ritual.

"I found everything we'll need and we still have plenty of time left to perform the ritual." - the elder told them.

"That's great! We'll be able to do it right now that we don't have to worry about how much time we have left." - the sky knight commented.

"Some good news for a change. I think we're finally getting there." - the navigator smiled.

"Then, please, follow me to the garden outside so I can explain the ritual in detail to avoid mistakes this time." - the old man said.

* * *

The two teenagers sat on the ground like they were positioned last time while Xhun was placing some objects in a circle around them.

"The first thing you'll do is build a solid and permanent link to your own bodies to prevent any more switches from happening." - the monk explained - "After that, you'll share your senses using the knowledge you acquired today. Only then you'll have mastered the bridge and will be able to get back to your bodies."

"Let's do this!" - Aerrow turned to Piper, and she nodded just as determined.

They closed their eyes to meditate once again. While that, the elder lit up some incense burners and let out some kind of greenish smoke from a few golden pots. The smoke filled the environment like a cloud and everything turned very foggy, impairing the vision. As their essences flew out of their bodies, the two looked around and noticed it was no longer possible to locate their own bodies.

"As the mist flows and fills the world around you, you'll find your way in the dark." - the old man chanted as he lit up a torch with blue fire.

They saw a faint light illuminating the fog. It didn't really make it any easier to see, though. It was most likely something metaphorical, but they were more than aware they shouldn't be relying on their vision for this challenge. However, there was one tiny problem.

' _Just how are we gonna find our bodies when we can't feel anything anymore?_ ' - Piper asked - ' _For some reason I don't really think it'll be just switching places again to go back._ '

' _You're right._ ' - Aerrow said - ' _We're supposed to find the connection another way... Maybe... That's also what our chat was about. Try focusing on something you know only you can feel._ '

She nodded and did as he suggested, and he followed suit. Suddenly, they started glowing and a line coming form their essences shot out to their respective bodies, highlighting them: Aerrow's soul and body were enveloped in green light, while Piper's were in orange light.

' _It's working!_ ' - she smiled - ' _I'm already starting to feel my own hands and the rest of my body._ '

' _Me too. Let's keep this up until we're connected back to our bodies._ ' - he told her.

And as they progressed, the line between their essences and their bodies became more visible and solid. To be sure they were done with that part, they attempted to move their own bodies from there. The navigator was able to move her arms, and so was the leader.

' _Well, we can get that out of our "must do" list._ ' - she said satisfied for knowing she was back in sync with her body.

Xhun observed the scene and got their signal to proceed with the ritual. He moved his hand by some metallic pipes that played a soft melody. The sound echoed in the area, as if the fog was an actual wall isolating them from the rest of the world, and yet, the wind could still be felt coming from beyond it.

"And as you find your path, you follow it clearly while you keep your bridge open for new guidance." - the elder recited.

The two knew that was the part they'd have to learn to share each other's perceptions. Now they just had to figure out how.

' _I was gonna suggest doing pretty much the same thing we just did, but a little differently._ ' - the boy told her.

' _Got it. I'll channel my knowledge into you, and you do the same then._ ' - she caught his idea.

Instead of directly focusing on each other's sensations, they decided to openly share their own perception to one another, and then accept each other's channel. And it worked: their essences glowed in opposite colors, Piper's became green and Aerrow's became orange; and as for their bodies, it was like they had suffered a color swap: Piper had red hair, green eyes and Caucasian skin, while Aerrow had midnight blue hair, orange eyes and dark skin.

They remained like that for a brief moment and it felt completely different from anything they've ever done. They could feel their own sensations and each other's at the same time. It was like their essences were in two different bodies simultaneously. Not only that, but they also noticed that even after they stopped focusing on channeling, it was like their bodies were constantly sharing their perception, so when they needed to use it, they'd no longer need to meditate.

' _Do you think it's really supposed to happen?_ ' - he questioned.

' _I guess so. It explains what we learned about the link not requiring us to be fully conscious to be performed._ ' - she concluded.

' _Yeah, that's true._ ' - he agreed - ' _I think we're done then. Let's go back._ '

She nodded, then both their projected images faded into a brilliant mist and quickly traveled back to their bodies. They opened their eyes and checked themselves out. Their silence made Xhun a little anxious for a moment.

"How do you feel?" - he asked them concerned.

"Like a hand inside a glove." - the girl replied, her voice coming from her actual body, at last.

"Yep. It's good to be back to normal." - the boy smiled.

"Ah, that's great to hear. You've succeeded." - the elder sighed in relief - "Even with the setbacks, you still managed to overcome everything and learn more than anyone who's ever done this test before you."

The two exchanged confident glances. They did it! And what a comeback was that! They stood up and actually bowed to the old monk.

"Thanks for all your help, Xhun." - the sky knight said.

"Yes, we couldn't have done it without your instructions." - the crystal mage agreed.

"It was an honor to be of assistance. I wish you good luck in your destiny." - Xhun told them.

They quickly got changed back into their uniforms and were about to leave when Sinjin appeared.

"Congratulations on your new mastery." - he said sincerely - "Your perseverance's admirable, you really deserve the talents you have. You both are something else."

The two smiled widely at his compliment. They knew he truly meant it, and if someone like him said that to them, their efforts were definitely something special.

"You sure you don't wanna come with us?" - Aerrow invited him once again.

"I... Don't know. I don't wanna get in your way." - the ghost was hesitant.

"Master Sinjin... Please go with them. We all know it'd be the best for you and for them as well." - the elder came walking from the temple.

"I'm sure your knowledge will come in handy." - Piper added - "And you'll get to the place you need to go. Everyone wins."

"Well, if that won't be a problem." - the spirit finally accepted and all three smiled, but before the duo could leave away, he approached Aerrow - "Hm... I hope you won't mind that I'll have to stick kind of close to you, otherwise I'll just disappear and end back in the other realm."

"Uh... Okay, as long as I get to keep my personal space, that is." - the red haired boy said.

"Of course. I didn't mean I'll have to stay _that_ close. Just that I'll have to accompany you in all your missions." - the deceased monk explained - "And you cannot take out the amulet until we arrive in the Zenith."

"Sure, no problem." - the leader agreed as he kept walking, until he saw the huge cliff they had come from - "So... How do we get down now?"

"We have an elevator." - the elder said as he pulled a lever that brought up a platform - "I wonder why you didn't use it the way here, though."

The two Storm Hawks looked disappointed. Oh... An elevator... That would've been convenient to know...

* * *

On the Condor, Kaya was finally giving everyone their final scores.

"Alright guys, here are my final notes from your tests. Best tactician: Junko. You had the smartest and simplest plan at the same time, plus you thought of it within 10 seconds, which's awesome!" - the Grandmaster said, to which the wallop smiled - "Best coordinator: Stork. You chose the most useful task, even though it took you a few pushes to feel up for the job." - and the merb had to agree with that - "Best combat leadership: Radarr. You had one of the harder missions, defending the ship from an attack, and you excelled at it." - the little guy jumped from joy after hearing that - "Best listener: Finn. I'll have to give it to you, even though you chose a task, you let the guys go with their ideas and have some fun." - the blonde sulked a little but felt recognized, since it still was something - "Overall best leader: no one. You all did a really good job and I couldn't choose only one of you. So it was a draw."

"Haha, today was fun." - the flight engineer said as he petted Mr. Softy who was lying on his shoulder - "I liked leading too."

"We... Actually managed to make a day of waiting into something useful." - the carrier pilot commented.

"Yeah... I think Aerrow and Piper will be proud of us." - the sharpshooter smiled, and the co-pilot nodded in agreement.

"Speaking of them, look who's just got back?" - Kaya drew their attention to the window as they all observed their two friends heading for the landing strip.

Aerrow and Piper had parked their skyrides and walked towards the hangar.

"Haha, yeah, that was awesome." - Aerrow commented about the events they had gone through that day - "And your aural vision is pretty cool."

"Nah, that's nothing. You should see your sky knight moves. They're incredible, I can tell you that now." - Piper responded.

They laughed a bit, then went quiet for a brief moment.

"So, uh, about what happened..." - he rubbed his hand behind his head, and the girl knew what he was getting into.

"Yeah... Well... Let's not tell anyone else about this." - she said and he immediately agreed.

Man, would that be embarrassing, better keep that detail to themselves... And Sinjin. But they knew their secret would be safe with him.

"Glad to see you're back!" - the little girl greeted them as the others came from the inside to receive them - "How did it go?"

"We've got one more bridge mastered alright." - the leader told her the news - "We're ready to move on to the next."

"Yep. We also brought someone here you should meet." - the navigator gestured to her side - "He'll be taking a lift with us to the Zenith."

Upon laying her eyes on him, the Grandmaster smiled widely.

"Wow! Sinjin! Is that you?! Long time no see! How have you been?" - she was surprised and quite happy for seeing an old friend again.

"Kaya. Great to see you're doing well." - the spirit replied as he bowed respectfully - "I've been as good as I could be... But these two gave me an opportunity to finally change things."

All the others, except for Radarr who could feel the aural smell of the stranger, exchanged confused glances.

"Uh... I don't see anyone." - Finn said.

"Yeah, that's because... Sinjin is actually dead." - Aerrow explained - "He was summoned in the temple and we're helping him out."

"So you brought a ghost on board?!" - Stork asked, then he completely freaked out. That simply couldn't be happening!

"Calm down, Stork. Sinjin is on our side and he'll be of great help to us." - Piper said.

"How can you three see him?" - Junko questioned them.

"Aerrow can because of that amulet he's wearing. Sinjin is bound to it. I'm a Guardian, we're able to see spirits. But I think Piper can't really see him right now." - Kaya clarified.

"You're right. I can no longer see or hear him. But I can see his aura. And I'm sure Radarr can smell it too." - the crystal mage told them, and the little animal nodded.

"Why's that now? You could see and talk to him before." - the sky knight didn't understand.

"Spirits can manifest in certain places, allowing themselves to be seen and heard by anyone. The temple you went to was one of those places, but the Condor isn't, so that's why only you and me can see him here." - the Grandmaster said.

"That's correct, which means right now I'm in that really awkward position that I can't greet your friends..." - Sinjin smiled embarrassed at Aerrow - "Please tell them I said 'Hi', so they won't feel uneasy around me."

The boy grinned back at him, understanding his position, then introduced him to the others. As everyone spoke about the events of that day, they walked inside the Condor, so they could get ready for their next adventure.

 

* * *

**NEXT EPISODE:**

**Episode 60** (parts 1, 2, 3 and 4)


	30. Episode 60 - Part 1

**Episode 60 - The Third Degree**

**Part 1 - A Recon Expedition**

The Condor flew in the skies towards its next destiny. One could hear the sound of snickers coming from inside the hangar bay, where Kaya and Sinjin were talking. The first giggled a little about something.

"Haha, you're not serious..." - she said as she wiped some tears, but then looked at his expression telling he meant all of that - "Hahahaha, I can't believe it! Oh, my Gosh! What I'd have given to see that!"

"Seriously, that was all so awkward I myself had started laughing." - he told her as he gestured to himself - "I've never seen anything like that before, but I'll admit I also didn't expect things to end right so easily."

"Hehe, what did I just tell you? By the way, what did you think?" - she asked.

"Well, kinda impulsive, headstrong... But with a good heart." - he commented as he subconsciously stared at Aerrow working on his skimmer a few feet away from them.

"But what about...? You know..." - she insisted, trying to get him to just read her mind so she'd not have to speak out loud.

"Hm... I'd say it's..." - he pondered with a hand on his chin - "Adoration. Lots of it. Oh, and devotion. So much devotion... It's actually inspiring."

"Haha! I know right! And the other?" - she asked with just as much curiosity.

"Smart, comprehensive... Oh, _really_ good with words. I'll confess I was impressed..." - he said almost in awe.

"Hey, don't go getting your hopes high, I already thought of plans here!" - the Grandmaster warned him, shaking her index finger at him.

"W-what? No, of course not! I'm going for something else myself, really." - the spirit shook his hands defensively, quickly dismissing the idea - "As for... You know... Lots of devotion too. But there's a mixed jumble of things there. It's kinda complicated. And I'm sure you know why."

"Hm... You're right... The situation isn't that easy there..." - she thought of that for a moment as she rested her head against her knuckle and realized he spoke the truth - "Well, no biggie, we need just to shed some light in that mumble jumble and we'll have the prettiest and purest l..." - she even clasped her hands and batted her eyelashes, when she quickly trailed off.

"Just what are you two talking about?" - Aerrow asked after having cleaned the metallic plate of the right wing from his skimmer with a piece of cloth.

"Oh, you were listening? I thought you were working on your skyride." - the little girl said sheepishly, as if she had been caught doing something naughty.

"I fixed it already." - the sky knight shrugged a little confused - "Why are you suddenly avoiding the question?"

"Ah, it's really nothing important." - she told him - "Just some... Gossip."

The boy stared at them unimpressed, then turned to the spirit, expecting an actual answer. Right... As if a ghost would like to gossip.

"Sorry, my lips, if I still had any... I mean, just look at this." - the deceased monk said, then picked the Grandmaster up from the ground and gave her a peck on the top of the head, when suddenly he faded away until he was almost invisible, dropping her back on her feet in the process.

"Okay, now you're making me blush for no reason." - she scratched her cheek jokingly.

He grinned, then turned to Aerrow again.

"See that? I had to use all this energy just to do that and it nearly sent me back to the other realm. It's kinda unfair don't you think?" - he complained about his limited materialized soul, to which the boy just blinked with a weirded out face and Kaya grimaced a little in sympathy - "Anyways, my lips are sealed. But, again, it's nothing important. Why are you insisting to know?"

"Maybe because it seemed like you were talking about me in my back?" - the leader rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.

"Well, we weren't talking _badly_ about you." - the girl explained casually - "We were just commenting a little about the skills you showed in your training yesterday. Sinjin was quite surprised by how good you went."

"Really?" - Aerrow questioned him, a raised eyebrow perking on his face.

"Of course, didn't I say you were something else?" - the spirit smiled - "You still have a long way to go, but if you keep this kind of progress up, you'll get there easily."

"That's good to hear, though this isn't the only progress we need." - Aerrow commented, then he turned to Kaya - "Don't we still need to recruit the help of more reigns?"

"Yes. But you guys also need some more resources, other than numbers in your army." - the Grandmaster said, gesturing to him - "You need better gear, and now that Detective Fire is on our side doing some investigation on Cyclonis, we probably should do a few researches of our own." - she pulled out a holographic codex - "The Detective found two big leads..."

* * *

As the little girl explained, the squadron listened carefully, sitting around the round table on the bridge, with the exception of Sinjin, who just stood behind Aerrow's seat.

"She's currently pursuing one right now, and she asked if we could check on the other one, since it's on the way of the next reign. She even sent us the coordinates." - she informed them, as she changed pages on her codex.

"What do we know so far about this lead we're following?" - Piper asked.

"Cyclonis seems to be planning something pretty big, sneaking out many Hooded Shadows in search of resources." - Kaya reported, to which Finn rolled his eyes as if he were saying 'as usual, always with the big plans' - "Detective Fire is attempting to figure out her plans by doing some recon near the tower itself. Our lead tracks some assets she's after."

"Maybe we could intercept the Night Crawlers so they can't get them." - Junko suggested.

"Great idea. The longer we can stall her, the better." - Aerrow agreed, and Radarr nodded from his spot on his shoulder.

"That's if they don't try to ambush us first..." - Stork gave his always pessimistic point of view, causing the sky knight to cross his arms in thought.

"And what makes you think we can't sneak by them right away?" - the blonde questioned him.

"Maybe the fact that ever since we got here, the Night Crawlers slipped by us unnoticed four times?!" - the merb retorted as he literally counted that on his four fingers - "And I don't wanna see one of those hideous things inside the Condor _ever_ again." - he glared back at Finn.

"That wasn't even the first time they invaded the Condor! I'd think you'd have gotten used to it." - the sharpshooter supported his elbow against the wall and rested his face against his hand, almost in a facepalm motion.

"You can never be used to those freaks of nature hissing at you." - the carrier pilot shivered.

"Nah, they're not that bad." - he started, but upon receiving weird looks he quickly amended - "I mean, they're bad, but they're not the worst enemies we have."

Aerrow, Piper, Junko and Radarr exchanged glances in thought, then looked back at the blonde.

"Uh... Pretty sure they're the worst thing we faced so far." - the red haired boy said.

"They were the only ones who ever defeated us. Twice." - the girl added - "And Cyclonis obviously trained them a lot harder now. They're more dangerous than when we last saw them in the Atmos. We've had to throw pretty much all we had at one single Night Crawler to retrieve a Reignition Stone."

"But what about Radarr's fur giving those crystals allergies?" - the wallop asked as he pointed a thumb at him - "He was really helpful when we took Cyclonia down."

The little animal smiled at his opportunity to shine again, then winced a little bit at the slightly unpleasant cost it had.

"They're probably coming up with something to counter that." - the navigator said while she gestured to the animal - "And... I think only the crystals suffered, last time Radarr jumped at a Night Crawler, nothing happened."

The co-pilot's ears fell a little. She had a point... Looks like his grand main hero career was cut short way too soon... Well, it was good while it lasted.

"Still, just because they're tough it doesn't mean we can't take them on. We beat them before." - the leader began as he uncrossed his arms and punched his own hand - "And if they try to counter our tactics, we'll just come up with new ones."

"Wow, you make everything sound so easy." - Finn commented - "Even when we all know it's not."

"I never said it was easy. I just mean we don't have a choice." - the red haired told him, then he smirked knowingly - "I said that before we waged war against Cyclonia. How do you figure we won?"

"I'll be honest and tell you it was more than just not giving up, specially in your case." - Kaya gave him a look as if she were expecting him to take a hint from that - "But you're right about persistence helping you out a lot."

Aerrow smiled determined, then turned to the merb.

"Stork, set a course to the coordinates Fire sent us." - he ordered.

The carrier pilot nodded, then accelerated the ship towards their new mission. Their objective wasn't easy, and it was quite dangerous and risky too. But, as always, they never backed down from a challenge, that was only one more mission just their style. They knew the seriousness of their plans, though, so they decided to prepare their gear more thoroughly this time. Radarr leaped off Aerrow's shoulder to head straight to the hangar bay, the others went to their quarters, except Stork, who remained near the helm, and Piper, who went to the crystal lab. The sky knight traced a path to his room when he noticed Kaya walking towards her own with her codex.

"Looks like we got high morale today." - he commented, then quickly added - "But just what did you try to say to me with that 'it was more than not giving up, specially for me' part? Were you talking about luck?"

"Hm... Now that you said it, you definitely were lucky back there... Otherwise you'd not be here to tell the story. But you didn't win that battle out of sheer luck." - she said to him - "Many things helped you there. I'm telling you this because you'll like to remember them when the next big battle comes. You know, so you won't die."

"Is my life really that much at risk?" - he asked a little bit upset about such grim news.

"Well, you're the leader of the main opposing force to Cyclonis's control over the world... Can't get any more spotlight than that." - she explained - "After what you told me about that battle, I'll just ask: why do you think Cyclonis went straight after you and Piper, instead of attacking the others?"

He looked down in thought for a moment. It was true the Empress had once said he was her biggest annoyance. And it was likewise on his part...

"Yeah... She did go out of her way a few times to try to kill me." - he admitted - "But I can't let that hold me back from my duties."

"You're right, of course. But you still are the first target they'd take out if they had the chance." - the Grandmaster warned him - "So be aware."

"Well, I've lived through that for quite a while. I guess I can handle it." - he shrugged - "And she can't kill me if I..."

"If you kill her first." - Sinjin suddenly completed for him from his relaxed position resting against the wall a few feet back in the corridor, nearly startling him.

"Uh... I was gonna say if I stick close to the squadron... Because we're always watching each others' backs." - the leader corrected him, staring at him almost in disbelief for such a suggestion of his mindset.

"I know. But there might be a time when you're out there alone. That's usually when your enemy will strike at you with no mercy." - the ghost told him - "You might wanna consider your lack of other options then. Unless you think you can reason with her."

"Hardly... She's way too crazy to listen to anything I could say." - he commented - "She was unfazed after the Dark Ace exploded... Like she was just disappointed her little toy broke."

"Then you know that if she can't be reached by words, there might be one day when you'll have to make a choice." - the spirit said - "Just choose wisely."

Aerrow lowered his head with a thoughtful frown. He knew Sinjin had a point, but how could he ever bring himself to do such a thing? What would the others think of him if they saw him taking someone's life? Stork would say he was insane, Finn and Junko would stare at him in disbelief, Radarr would be wary of him, and finally there was Piper's horrified expression pictured in his mind. He clenched his fists, he couldn't do that... He just couldn't. Kaya noticed his reaction and decided to soothe him.

"Hey, don't worry about that, Aerrow." - she placed a hand on his arm and smiled reassuringly - "If the time comes, you'll know what to do, but right now just focus on staying close to your friends and being there for them. Keep an eye out for yourself too, okay?"

He grinned back at her and nodded, then headed to his room. Yeah, so far Cyclonis hadn't gone that far into her madness... At least, that's what he could pick up from the lack of seeing her activity around those last days. But that didn't mean he could stop worrying. He had to be careful and, pretty much like Sinjin had said, strike at her before she could strike at him. Well, who says that couldn't be applied to the investigation strategies too? Plus, at the moment, that would be a more productive plan than worrying about her murder attempts on him anyways.

Sinjin remained outside the room, close enough to Kaya, so he could talk to her.

"You're aware he'll go through that eventually, aren't you? I know I'm not the only one who sensed that." - the spirit spoke, looking at her with a serious expression, as if trying to guess her reasoning - "You shouldn't have him completely push that aside."

"I know. But now isn't the best time to prepare him for that." - the little girl told him, then she poked her index fingers against each other - "I had an idea for a few plans, and I'd like to know if you could help me."

"Hm... Sure. What do you need me to do?" - he shrugged, then leaned closer so she could whisper - "Oh, you're not serious..." - he looked at her funny after hearing her first idea - "That's crazy and the chance of success is so slim..."

"No pain, no gain! You should know that by now." - she smiled - "And the second plan is much easier: I want you to teach Aerrow some of your techniques and how you train."

"But... You know most of my techniques too, why do you want _me_ to teach him?" - he asked.

"Because it'd be good for both of you to do something together." - she said - "You can learn a lot from each other."

"Okay, I get your point... But I don't have enough energy for this." - he told her - "I'd disappear in the first 10 seconds of training."

"About that, relax, I think your training should be somewhere special, where your energy limit wouldn't be a problem. The only thing we need to worry about is if he'd withstand the place's harshness..." - she explained.

"Are you suggesting the Astral Training Grounds?" - the ghost was almost surprised by such a bold choice, and she nodded to confirm it - "Then that's not only a matter of physical resistance. He'd also have to accept to go through all the changes that place will do to him. Not everyone would be willing to do that."

"Yeah, you're right. That's why I'll save it for when we really need to go to that extent." - Kaya said to him - "You know that time is coming, don't you?"

"I do. I feel like something big will happen. Something bad." - he agreed with her suspicions.

"I just hope we'll be all ready for what's to come." - she looked away in thought.

* * *

A little while later, the squadron was reunited around the round table in the bridge. Piper had laid out some charts on the table and was pointing to one of them.

"I studied the maps Kaya gave me of the coordinates Detective Fire wants us to check." - the navigator began - "It's an area filled with spiky mountains and some kind of tunnel leading to a bigger mountain in the center. We can use them as cover to spy the Night Crawlers heading to the cave. And then flank them."

"Sounds like a good plan." - Aerrow commented - "Any idea of what they're after?"

"Mountains like those can sometimes be the lair to ruins of temples or even chambers to ancient artifacts." - Kaya explained - "I suppose if your Master there sent a fleet of Hooded Shadows to that place, it has something valuable inside."

"I do hope it's somewhere loaded with treasure! Because last time was a total disappointment." - Finn crossed his arms and shook his head, referring to the time the squadron had first gone to the Forbidden City, to which the red haired boy rolled his eyes.

"What about how many of them will be there?" - Junko asked.

"According to Fire's report, it's a considerable fleet." - the Grandmaster told him.

"Then we better double check our gear before we go." - the leader decided.

The group was making their last preparations for their new mission. The sharpshooter was checking out the enhanced arrows he was given to use as improved ammo on his crossbow. He grinned satisfied as he loaded one of them on his weapon and aimed with it. The wallop was loading his skimmer with his new bombs, made of crystals only found in the Far Side. He adjusted some controls for the bombs and nodded to himself.

The merb messed with the control panel near the helm of the Condor. As he flipped some switches, a very solid shield barrier enveloped the ship, then some electricity flew around it. He smirked and let out a very soft giggle as if he were planning a very painful outcome for anyone who tried to touch his beloved ship. The first officer was in her lab, selecting the crystals she was going to bring with her. She lifted her hand and a few crystals floated towards her, then she levitated herself to grab a crystal on the top of a crate placed on a shelf near the ceiling.

"That should do the trick." - she said to herself.

Aerrow and Radarr were making sure they had all they needed. The co-pilot tossed over some stuff he didn't need from his cockpit and replaced them with more useful tools. The sky knight verified if the engine was working, if the wings and shields were deploying correctly and if all the controls were properly responsive.

"I guess that's about it." - he said, content with the results of his tests, then he turned to the rest of the group who was entering the hangar - "Ready to get going?"

"We're all set, dude." - Finn responded, one of his hands making his "chick cha" signature.

"Then let's fly!" - the leader commanded.

Everyone accelerated their skyrides and shot out to the skies, the carrier pilot followed close behind them with the Condor in silent mode.

"It's almost hard to believe we're already taking our new skyrides made with the Far Side's technology into battle." - Piper commented - "I think they'll do great, I barely tested all the new controls on mine." - she turned to Junko flying not too far from her, who nodded smiling in agreement.

"Well, I suppose that's also because I made many modifications on the rides to give them an edge in combat." - Stork said from his position at the helm - "Those Night Crawlers aren't the only ones with brand new upgrades now. They'll be in for a little surprise..."

Kaya flew in her bird form near Aerrow's skimmer, while Sinjin just sat casually on the back of the skyride. The boy noticed that and eyed him with a weirded out expression.

"Uh, are you sure you wanna sit there? Aren't you gonna fall off in the middle of a dogfight or something?" - the green eyed kid asked his new passenger.

"It's not like I'd die again if I fell." - the deceased monk shrugged - "Besides, since I'm a ghost, I'm stuck to this ride like glue. And don't worry about going by narrow places, I'll phase through everything. Just do your stuff like you usually do."

"If you say so." - he said blankly.

They flew in low altitude, hiding behind the spiky rocks. They stayed in strategic positions around the area and waited for a moment. Soon, they heard the sound of something approaching the mountains: the squadron of Night Crawlers.

The relatively small group of dark soldiers flew straight to the tunnel. And there was a different skyride from theirs right in the middle. Its rider was concealed by a large and rounded black windshield. It was as if they were guarding that mysterious pilot.

"That's suspicious... What are they looking for? And who's that?" - the wallop wondered.

Piper closed her eyes, reaching her hand out to touch one of the many rocky spikes, then focused for a brief moment: something flashed in her mind. She suddenly gasped.

"Guys, I know what they're after! It's the Mirror Stone, a very powerful crystal that can copy and reverse the effect of any other crystal." - she explained - "We can't let Cyclonis have it!"

She quickly accelerated her heliscooter to intercept the enemy fleet. Aerrow and Finn flew after her right away.

"And how did you figure that?" - the blonde questioned her.

"The books I got in the Praetora Province taught me a lot." - she told him - "I'm able to sense crystal energy without the need of a crystal scope or a radar."

"You never cease to surprise us." - the sky knight smiled.

"Hm... Sorry to interrupt, but we got company at six o'clock." - Sinjin said calmly while pointing a thumb at the approaching threat, drawing the boy's attention.

A Night Crawler that was scouting the area instead of guarding the mysterious pilot from up close had seen them and decided to attack. The purple eyed enemy charged at Aerrow right away. No wonder Kaya had told him he was a target. He immediately moved the skimmer out of the way, causing the soldier to fly past them at incredible velocity.

"You know, you could've made that sound a little more urgent!" - he said to the ghost.

"Why? Yelling for you to dodge will confuse you more than help you." - the spirit replied nonchalantly, then he crossed his arms with a challenging grin - "For example... Dodge!" - he suddenly shouted.

The leader was stunned for a millisecond, then looked up right before a fist connected with his face and the enemy managed to pin him against the controllers of the skyride. The teenager grunted as he hit his back, then he struggled against his attacker.

"I told you yelling wasn't the right way." - the deceased monk rolled his eyes amused.

"That's not helping..." - Aerrow glared at him, then he felt the Night Crawler grab on the amulet around his neck and attempt to pull it off.

He gasped and immediately held the soldier's wrist in place. The moment Sinjin saw that he acted: he materialized his hands and wrists, then quickly pulled the enemy's arm and twisted it in his back, followed by grabbing him by his hood and tossing him out of the skimmer.

"Phew... That was close." - the boy sighed in relief.

"You almost let him take the amulet off you! Are you out of your mind?" - the ghost yelled at him.

"That's because you kept distracting me." - the sky knight retorted - "You could've helped a little sooner too. Or were you planning on getting lost already?"

The tension between them went sky high with that. They stared at each other angrily, neither willing to yield or admit their mistakes. Radarr watched that still fight hopelessly, until he realized there was nobody actually piloting the skimmer. He screeched in terror as he pointed ahead of them. The other two looked at him questionably for a brief instant, then quickly flit their heads to where he was pointing at. They screamed as they saw a spiky mountain approaching very fast, there'd be no time to avoid it so they just braced for impact, well, Aerrow and Radarr, anyways.

The skyride smashed against the rocky wall, exploded loudly, then fell in pieces. But, miraculously, the boy and the little animal didn't suffer any damage, for Kaya had managed to rescue them before they crashed. She had shifted into a small phoenix, still big enough to carry both of them in her claws. Aerrow and Radarr opened their eyes and blinked surprised and relieved. The girl stared at the teenager with a reprehensible expression, shaking her head.

"You're lucky I got here in time. The same goes for you!" - she turned to Sinjin who floated nearby - "Quit fighting, will you? We don't have time for this."

"What am I gonna do now? My skimmer's gone." - the leader asked.

"We got that covered." - Piper flew past them - "Junko, did you get all the pieces?"

"Every last one!" - the wallop responded as he carried all the pile of twisted metal that was left of Aerrow's skimmer.

"Time to fix this!" - the girl shouted as she shot a green beam from her staff equipped with a nil crystal.

The skyride was back to its former glory in a matter of seconds and even floated off the flight engineer's hands.

"Haha! Cool!" - Junko was amazed by how fast it had been patched up.

The Grandmaster flew by the skimmer, dropping Aerrow and Radarr, then shifted back into her usual bird form. Sinjin quickly went back to his passenger position on its back plating.

"Hey, thanks!" - the sky knight appreciated the hardwork his friends put into helping him out.

"You two should start working together, or at least tolerate each other more." - the navigator told them as she flew nearby - "If you don't, we can consider this fight here a defeat."

"Yeah, I know." - the boy said - "I'll leave that pointless discussion for... Never."

"For once, I'll second that." - the spirit agreed.

They should focus on their mission, not on some stupid rivalry, if one could even call it that since they barely knew each other and they weren't competing for anything. Pushing those thoughts aside, Aerrow flew by the scouts, in order to distract them, using himself as bait. Good thing, though, was that he had his friends backing him up.

He got two scouts on his tail, then he leaped off his skimmer, grabbing on the wing of one of the Night Crawlers, and used his weight to cause the first soldier to crash against the other. That served them right for having such light weight skyrides. He safely landed back on his skimmer and proceeded to chase more enemies.

While that, Finn shot at some scouts very far away, easily sniping them square in the head. One by one they'd fall from the sky, their rides heavily damaged, since they were part of their armor.

"Scouts are all down!" - he signaled the area was clear to the others.

Junko and Aerrow immediately dove at the squadron escorting the mysterious rider. The wallop dropped some bombs to disrupt them before the two got into melee range. One of the Night Crawlers had the rider get out of that mess and go ahead to the tunnel without them. The only different skyride accelerated straight into the cave. Piper flew past the commotion in pursuit of whoever was that rider.

Kaya noticed a Night Crawler going after the crystal mage and approached the group fighting. Shots were fired in all directions, she had to dodge a few dozens of bolts of energy before she finally reached the boys.

"Aerrow! You better go to the tunnel too! There's another Hooded Shadow heading there as well!" - she warned him.

"Right! Radarr, stay and help the others!" - he told his co-pilot, who jumped up and was caught by Kaya's claws, then tossed at an enemy.

The sky knight turned his skimmer and flew straight at the soldier. He hovered a little higher than him and pointed his skyride downwards to strike. The skimmer spiraled towards the enemy as Aerrow shifted it into bike mode. He took the chance to close the gap and slash at the chest of the Night Crawler, cutting off his upgrades on his armor and causing him to fall from the sky. The boy quickly deployed the wings again before he hit the ground and headed for the cave.

Piper landed at the entrance of the tunnel and saw the distinct skyride there, its pilot long gone. She pulled out a warp crystal from her pocket and concentrated for a brief second before teleporting away. She reappeared inside some kind of chamber and nearby there was a small pillar with a crystal on top of it, right under an opening in the ceiling.

Aerrow arrived to the chamber shortly after, along with Sinjin who floated behind him, and witnessed a scene he definitely wasn't expecting: as the girl was about to pick up the rare crystal, someone else also grabbed on it, making her gasp - it was none other than Domiwick. Now that was... Unnerving.

 


	31. Episode 60 - Part 2

**Episode 60 - The Third Degree**

**Part 2 - Vexatious Encounter**

Aerrow watched that with wide eyes. He never thought they'd bump into Domiwick so soon. In fact, he had been planning on avoiding that at all costs. The mere sight of that man made him feel absolutely _livid_ for some reason. It was comparable to how he felt when fighting the Dark Ace, if not even worse than that. No, it was definitely worse, he could tell.

Piper stared at the explorer cautiously. She was very wary of him and wouldn't let her guard down, specially after last time, something she hated to be reminded of. She regretted not having brought her staff along... Now she couldn't do anything against him out of fear of him activating the Mirror Stone and simply negating all her attacks and reflecting them back to her.

"Domiwick..." - she grunted angrily, as his presence would forever make her angry.

"In the flesh. You didn't think I'd come this far, did you?" - he said arrogantly.

"So you joined Cyclonis even after she betrayed you before." - the girl commented - "That's stupid even for you."

"On the contrary, I made an excellent deal with her in person, a mutually beneficial one." - he told her - "And with her resources, it's just a matter of time until she has you all in her clutches again. This crystal here is just a little bonus for her collection."

"I won't let you have it! No matter what!" - she warned him.

"Oh... Now you're just being naughty." - he mocked cynically as he slowly reached for his sword - "Why don't you be a good girl instead and hand it over, or will I have to put you to bed again?" - he gave her an ominous look.

She almost curled a little, defensively. No... No... Not that again. She simply couldn't stand the thought of being defeated by him a second time. He had shattered her trust, making her feelings fall to pieces, then hurt her pride, plus kind of injured her. What else could he break from her now? She squinted her eyes slightly, trying to fight the despair coming to her.

But there was someone else on the lookout. And that person wasn't about to just sit and watch, specially after a certain promise he had made to himself.

"Not this time!" - his voice yelled angrily, causing both to look at its direction.

In a fraction of a second, Aerrow had channeled his new move and charged at Domiwick. He dragged the man with him, making both break through a rocky wall. In those brief seconds, Piper felt relieved the boy was there for her, but after seeing them smashing against the cave wall she hurried to see if he was okay. Once the dust settled down, the explorer was lying on the ground completely disoriented from the impact, while the sky knight had his blade aimed at his throat.

The navigator noticed his hand was shaking slightly from anger. It was as if he were trying really hard to fight his desire to slash that man's neck right at that instant. The blonde man caught a glimpse of his sword on the ground a few feet away and attempted to stand up, reaching for it, when the boy placed his own weapon dangerously close to his flesh.

"You move, and your head will be the next thing lying on the floor." - he threatened him.

Domiwick grimaced under his death stare. That boy wasn't kidding around! He sounded as if he really had the intent to finish him off right then and there. It was way too convincing to be just an act to appear menacing. He noticed he was acting differently, at least, compared to the last time they had met. He had taken the hint that the kid had an instinctive disliking towards him from the start, but at the moment, it seemed to have grown into actual hatred. And he thought the girl was bad enough... Now she seemed like the more reasonable one of the two.

And he wasn't the only one having those kinds of thoughts. The crystal mage was a little worried about Aerrow behaving as if he were on the edge herself. She observed quiet, attempting to get a read on him. There was so much turmoil in his aura, she could see it flickering in anger, but at the same time he had a controlled... Calm inside him. It was almost hard to believe he could've ever gotten to such emotional state. It just wasn't like him to be so... Cold.

Sinjin watched from a distance how things were playing out. The way that kid was enraged like that... Almost felt... Familiar. He frowned. Being reminded of things you want to leave in the past was definitely not pleasant. He remained silent and didn't intervene, for he wanted to see what else the boy would do on his own. When he saw the navigator slowly approaching the sky knight, though, he instinctively made himself ready to react in case something happened. After all, the last time he had witnessed a scene like that he...

"Aerrow..." - she said softly, staring at the boy with pleading eyes while she grabbed on his arm holding the blade, as if she were asking him to ease on it just a little bit.

He looked at her in complete silence, his expression filled with rage softened until he finally slowly sighed and withdrew his sword slightly, though he still remained ready to strike in the blink of an eye if that guy even had the slightest thought of trying anything. Ah, the things he did for her... Coming to think of it, he did go out of his way for her sake quite often. Not that he was complaining about that, he was just realizing a few truths here and there.

Sinjin could only blink, his position relaxing. He had thought a completely different outcome was in play, but it seemed he was wrong. Maybe he wasn't that good at predicting things as he thought. Or maybe the boy wasn't as similar as... He lowered his head. Well, at least he didn't have to worry about him snapping on everyone or something.

"What do you wanna do with him?" - Aerrow asked still serious, since a certain somebody had ruined his mood for the rest of the day, maybe even of the week, the month, the year, the...

"I think we should take him with us to the Condor to interrogate him and get some answers about Cyclonis's plans." - Piper told him, cutting his angry thoughts before he would go on an endless rant in his mind.

He nodded quietly, then turned to the man, pointing his weapon at him.

"Get up." - he said harshly.

Without even giving the explorer enough seconds to get back on his feet, the leader pulled him by the arm, forcefully making him stand. His momentum caused him to stumble forward and nearly lose his balance again. The first officer walked past them towards the exit as he scrambled a little, then stabilized his footing. The man shot Aerrow a hesitant glare, specially upon noticing the boy wasn't in anyway fazed or afraid, in fact, he was the one who should be feared in that situation. Domiwick was about to walk forward, when the kid suddenly placed him in an arm lock, immobilizing him for a moment.

"I'll be watching you all the time. You try anything and I'll personally make sure you'll step off." - he said in a menacingly calm way - "Capisce?" - he asked, to which the blonde nodded nervously - "Good. Now move on, already, we don't have all day." - he pushed the man to have him walk faster.

As they were heading outside, Sinjin approached the boy.

"I'll keep and eye on him too." - he spoke - "Two pairs of eyes are better than one."

The sky knight nodded in agreement. The spirit could easily sense all the anger, but he didn't seem as worried as he was a minute ago. He knew the kid could handle that just fine. The moment they stepped outside, the crystal mage had already mounted on her heliscooter. Before the explorer could even think of climbing on his skyride, Aerrow immediately sliced it in half with his blade. The man just frowned at his destroyed ride.

"What, did you think I'd let you get away so easily?" - the boy said dryly.

The man's shoulders just fell at that speech.

"How are we gonna take him to the Condor?" - the girl asked, drawing their attention.

"I'll give him a lift." - he responded after a short moment, smirking at the idea he had just thought of.

* * *

Domiwick's screams could be heard from far away as Aerrow flew the skimmer. The man was tied with ropes under the left lower wing of the skyride. His arms were stuck beside his body, while his legs were hanging helplessly. The leader of the Storm Hawks didn't take it easy on him either: the moment some Night Crawlers spotted them and tried to pursue them, he flew very fast, pulling out some barrel rolls and loops without one single drop of hesitation. The explorer felt completely nauseous and could throw up at any moment. His hat even fell off his head then landed on it again a few times.

The ghost paid closer attention to that behavior. Not that he condemned it, he just thought maybe he should still keep an eye on the kid, just in case.

Kaya noticed them flying a little far and turned to the others still fighting a smaller group of enemies.

"Guys, I think we should go. We got what we needed from here." - she told them.

Finn and Junko, along with Radarr on one of their rides, quickly maneuvered out of the mess of bolts of energy and headed straight to the Condor. The Night Crawlers went after them, but when they got close enough, the Condor came out of its hiding place and started shooting at them. Stork managed to take down about four soldiers before he observed as the others landed on the landing pad and hastily flew them away from there.

The red eyed leader growled angrily at that, then contacted someone through his communicator.

"Master. They have him." - he told her.

" _I'm aware of it._ " - Cyclonis responded.

In the dark room she stood watching a holographic screen, she proceeded to type a few commands to one of her machines that picked up some crystals and aligned them one beside the other.

"Just have some of your men follow them from a distance, I'll call a retrieving squadron after we triangulate their location." - she said.

"As you wish." - he replied, then motioned to some soldiers, so they'd track the ship down.

Three skyrides flew away, following its track.

* * *

Aboard the Condor, the team was gathered in the hangar bay. Domiwick had been stuffed into the armor locker, his arms, wrists and ankles were tied firmly in ropes. He looked more like a kidnapped hostage than a criminal captured by the law, and that made Piper feel a little uncomfortable, since that wasn't the right way of doing things, but it'd have to be that way or Aerrow wouldn't calm down.

She knew she had previously taken Domiwick's evil doings as personal, but she had never thought he'd do so as well to that extent, it wasn't like he had his feelings hurt by the man, and yet... She felt as if maybe he was acting like that because of what happened to her back in Terra Aquanos. She did remember the talk they had in the night they had spent in that terra until the Condor was finally recovered. How she had a heartfelt moment, letting out all the worries and sadness bottled up in her heart into one single burst of crying.

She had a soft and sad smile in her face. While she really appreciated the fact something like that mattered that much to him, she just hoped his rage wouldn't blind him and get in his way. She knew he could be very reckless and sometimes didn't think straight when he was angry. Her thoughts were pushed aside as she saw Kaya walking closer to their new "guest".

"Oh, so he is the insolent jerk you had told me about." - the little girl said in his face - "Sooo not pleased to meet you." - she leaned in a little and even tilted her head to emphasize her sarcasm.

"What's he doing here again?" - Stork asked slightly annoyed.

The Condor wasn't meant to chauffeur someone with such questionable moral like him! That guy was contaminating the ship! He swore, if he ever had to give another lift to yet another enemy of theirs...

"Giving some answers. He probably can let us in on Cyclonis's scheme. But first..." - the navigator explained, then she pulled out a nil crystal from her pocket - "Let's make sure she can't track us down through him."

She shot a bolt at him that caused no effect whatsoever. She frowned, that was unexpected.

"What do you know... I have nothing on me." - the man said.

Aerrow gritted his teeth and pulled the man by the collar.

"You better not be hiding anything, because I'll find it even if I have to rip it off of you!" - the teenager shouted at him.

"I... Don't have... Anything." - he replied almost out of breath from the hold on his collar.

The sky knight didn't buy that, though, and stared angrily at him. Oh, he'd make him spit it all out!

"He's telling the truth, Aerrow." - the first officer said, drawing his attention - "If he had any device attached to him, the nil crystal would've destroyed it."

"And I read his aura, he's not lying and there's nothing watching him through it either." - the Grandmaster confirmed.

The leader let go of him, dropping him on the floor unceremoniously. The guy had lucked out of that one, but it'd not be so easy the next time. Piper, Kaya, Radarr and Sinjin noticed the boy's behavior. It looked almost as if he were trying to find all the excuses he could to beat the hell out of that man. But he really couldn't be blamed. Kaya and Sinjin seemed to approve of that, each one for their own reasons, while Piper was a little worried and Radarr shared the opinions of both approval and worry.

"Guess we should be getting our answers then." - Junko suggested.

"Not yet, we must make some preparations first, in case Cyclonis could be listening somehow." - the crystal mage said.

"And we better make sure he can't be found." - Aerrow pulled out his sword and shot a charged blast at Domiwick, knocking him out cold.

A while later, the man recovered consciousness. He looked around and noticed he was inside a small and dark room, with only one flickering light bulb in the ceiling. He was sitting in a chair, his ankles and wrists were tied to its legs and arms by reinforced metal belts. There was also one holding his chest and arms together against the back of the chair. That all certainly felt like a stereotypical interrogatory/torture room. How they had pulled that off would always be a mystery to him. Worst of all, since he had been unconscious he had no idea of where the room was located, only that it was uncomfortably tight.

Something else he couldn't know was that the door was made of a glass that could only see through from the outside, plus it was soundproof. Whoever was inside couldn't see or hear anything beyond it. And through that strategy, the Storm Hawks could watch him without him knowing. Finn observed him through the glass, then he backed away from it to address the others.

"He's awake. And he doesn't have a clue where he is." - the sharpshooter told them - "How are you gonna make him spit it out? He's probably sworn his loyalty by now."

"We just have to be very convincing." - Aerrow said with a hand on his chin - "Like making an offer he can't refuse. I have a plan." - he smirked as he looked at Radarr and Stork, who grinned as well.

"I'll bring the material." - the merb walked down the corridor to fetch what they'd need, while the co-pilot rubbed his hands and followed his boy inside the room.

Soon the three were inside the pitch black room, Aerrow's blade dangerously close to Domiwick's face being the only source of light.

"Start talking." - he demanded - "What is Cyclonis's plan?"

"I don't know..." - the man responded quietly, but still a little irritated.

"You're not fooling anyone here. Let's see how much you can endure until you blurt it all out." - the boy said, then by his right, some sparks lit up the room as the carrier pilot had prepared two firebolt crystals for his first convincing method.

Outside, the rest of the squadron watched the interrogation. The group was almost squished against the glass, watching with interest. All anxious to know what the man would tell them.

"Oh, my Gosh! This is so thrilling! I feel like I'm in an investigation drama movie or something." - Kaya said excitedly, then she turned to Piper - "Who do you think is the good cop and the bad cop?"

"From the looks of it... I don't think any of them is the good cop." - the navigator replied uneasily.

And she was right. Stork always would set a very dark atmosphere to everything so he was a natural bad cop. Aerrow was angry as ever, so he was in no mood to be the good cop at all, and Radarr always followed his lead, so there they had yet a third bad cop. That almost seemed like going overboard...

"I told you I don't know anything!" - the man yelled from inside the room, drawing the others' attention.

He was noticeably distressed, as if he were attempting to swear he didn't have the information they wanted and wasn't playing them. The first officer felt some pity. She wasn't sure if she should believe what he said was true or if that'd mean she was being too soft.

Inside the room, though, Aerrow, Stork and Radarr weren't having such a debate in their minds. Their only purpose was forcing the answers out of that man, one way or another. They glared at him without flinching one single bit, clearly showing they didn't believe him, which just pressured him even more.

"Listen, after I found her castle in the Far Side, all I've done was speak to her once, when she proposed I'd explore and she'd give me resources." - he explained a little frantically - "I haven't talked to her since. I brought several artifacts back, but she had no interest in them. The only things she wanted were the map from the Endless Caverns I had to make and a stone tab telling a few things about this crystal I went to find today. I know nothing about whatever plans she's making."

The merb looked at the boy, signaling that he was telling the truth.

"You'll be spared for now, but we'll come back soon with more questions. Don't think we're done yet." - the red haired human said, then the three squadmates left the room, locking the door behind them.

"So? How did it go?" - Finn asked.

"He didn't say much. Just that Cyclonis is after that crystal and she's mapped the Endless Caverns." - the carrier pilot told them.

"You sure he can't be tracked here?" - the sky knight inquired.

"I've set two astral barriers to prevent telepathic contact with him, one around the Condor, and another around this room." - the Grandmaster said.

"And I've built a triple barrier with a blocking crystal, a cloaking crystal and a sonar crystal." - the crystal mage spoke - "We can't be seen or heard. And any crystal effect against us is completely negated. We should be safe as long as those shields are up."

"I hope so. We can't afford being tracked down before we have everything we need from him." - he said in thought.

In the distance, a few Night Crawlers were attempting to follow the now invisible Condor. It was much harder to trace their trajectory through guessing than it was if they could actually see them. Where could they go to? What if they just stopped in the middle of nowhere? Their small group had to split up in several directions to find their position. One went straight ahead, the other two angled a little to the left and right, respectively, in order to cover a bigger area. That way they might triangulate their position and maybe even surround them.

* * *

Back inside the Condor, Aerrow was standing by the door to their interrogation room. He'd observe Domiwick inside the dark room, tied and completely unable to move. Usually he'd be against something like that, but when it came down to that man, he felt like he was doing what he needed to in order to protect the others. Sinjin, unable to wander too far from Aerrow's location, was leaning against the wall across the door.

"Aren't you gonna give it a break?" - he asked calmly - "You've been watching him for hours."

"No. He's not to be left unguarded. Not for even a second." - the boy responded.

"Then ask someone else to take a turn watching him." - the spirit suggested - "Like your little friend there." - he pointed at Radarr who came walking from the corridor to check on them.

The little guy just watched as his buddy was talking to nobody. Well, nobody that could be _seen_ , since he could feel the smell of that new aura nearby. It was certainly a little weird. He'd have to get used to it. The others then, who couldn't sense the new passenger in anyway, would have some spooky moments until they finally got totally used to him, even though he clearly meant no harm to anyone.

"I said I was gonna keep an eye on him, and that's what I'll do until this is over." - the leader glared through the glass at their prisoner.

The monk's eyelids fell halfway over his eyes unimpressed. He didn't say a word. A silent moment passed, when he decided to speak again.

"So what's your history anyways?" - the ghost questioned him, and while he didn't open his mouth, the boy perked an eyebrow, showing he was listening - "As in, what's going on between you, the girl and that guy?"

"That guy's a traitor. He didn't think twice before working with the Cyclonians to find the Oracle Crystal. Cyclonis almost put her hands on a crystal that could show the future that early because of him." - the sky knight explained - "Nothing wrong with wanting to bring him to justice."

"Right... But there seems to be something else in all that as well. Something personal." - the blue haired young man commented - "I wanna know what happened."

Aerrow just looked away, at the ground.

"I won't let him have his way again. He won't have another chance to do that." - he said quietly - "Not while I'm here."

Sinjin sighed.

"Look, if you don't wanna share, then at least let me do something useful. As long as you're here, I'll be stuck with you, since I can't go too far." - he said a little impatiently - "Why don't you leave your friend here and watch them through that camera you set up?" - he pointed at the extremely well hidden recording crystal inside the room.

"Fine." - the kid finally agreed - "But I'll come back soon. Watch him very carefully, Radarr."

The little animal nodded and saluted, not entirely sure of what the whole conversation was about, since he couldn't hear the spirit, therefore, he could only know what Aerrow had replied. It did seem like Sinjin was trying to help him calm down or something, though, so the little guy felt more at ease after that.

The teenager went to his room, and the ghost followed him up until the corridor, not intending to go inside. Spending the whole afternoon near an enraged Aerrow was not entertaining at all, much less productive... In fact, it made the day feel completely dragged and, at that rate, it was a waste of time. From the corner of his eyes, he saw Piper heading to her lab not far from there, so he decided to pay her a little visit. Maybe she could give him some answers. He stood by the doorframe, and she noticed him there.

"Sinjin?" - she asked.

Oh, right! She could see his aura. But she couldn't hear him. Hm... Maybe he could think of a work around that. He walked towards her, and she stared at the lingering shadow of his presence with a curious expression. Suddenly, he materialized his head and hands, right in front of her, quite a bit closer than what his aura gave off, and grabbed on her shoulders.

"I need to speak with you." - he said urgently, which made her blink wide eyed and startled.

And just as quick as he had appeared, his materialized body vanished. Man, was that hard! It took quite a lot of energy to do that. He couldn't keep doing that for too long, or his grasp on the amulet would also fade away and he'd be sent back to the other realm.

As for her, that felt certainly creepy for a second there. Sudden appearances like that would always startle her, but she probably would have to get used to that, since it was the only way he could communicate with her without Kaya's or Aerrow's help.

"Hm... O-Okay, but I can't hear you... Maybe Kaya has something that could help." - the girl suggested, still a bit shocked after being startled like that, then both went to see the Grandmaster.

* * *

"Oh, so you wanna have a chit chat? I have something that'll let you do just that." - the little girl said as she pulled a strange yellow crystal along with a support for it from a drawer in her room - "It's a channeling crystal. It can create a small temporary field where spirits can manifest themselves. It doesn't last for too long before the crystal needs to be recharged again, but it's something." - she shrugged as she handed her the two objects.

"That'll be perfect. Thanks, Kaya." - the navigator smiled.

"Oh, no need to thank me." - the warrior trainer grinned proudly - "If you ever need anything, don't hesitate to ask!" - she waved as they left her room.

Piper led the ghost to her room this time, so they could talk without anyone eavesdropping or busting into their conversation. She waited until she saw his aura was fully inside the room before locking the door. She then set the crystal and its support on the desk beside her bed and activated it. A small flash of light came from it, then some beams slowly enveloped a section of the room into yellowish light. After a few seconds, the deceased monk was fully visible, just like he was in the temple.

"It worked!" - he said as he looked at himself.

"Yeah, I can hear you now too." - she commented.

Before they could do anything, though, a big group of other ghosts suddenly appeared, crowding the small area affected by the crystal. Sinjin was completely pushed back to the middle of that swarm. Oh, well, that didn't go as expected.

 


	32. Episode 60 - Part 3

**Episode 60 - The Third Degree**

**Part 3 - In for Questioning**

Piper blinked creeped out at that mess, then the spirits suddenly started talking non-stop, usually mentioning something about how they waited so long to be able to speak to someone who was still alive and tell them some message they wanted to be delivered.

They were of all shapes and kinds, and they'd literally compete for the attention, elbowing and pushing each other to the side. Sinjin then swung a low kick that knocked the front row of ghosts down, so he could get closer to the girl and speak to her.

"Sinjin?! What's going on?!" - she asked him.

"I think this field allows any spirit to be summoned." - he said as he tried to keep the rest of the souls from coming any closer to her - "Maybe you should try to restrict part of the power of the crystal, so less spirits can come in the field." - he told her, while being slowly pushed back to the middle of that crowd again.

"Are you sure about it? What if you disappear with them?" - she was hesitant.

"Don't worry about that, just do your thing." - he told her as he pushed himself up, above the level of the heads of the other spirits.

"Okay, I'm on it." - she rushed to the desk and messed with a few control knobs on the support of the crystal, then all of the ghosts disappeared, except for Sinjin.

"Well, now that's more like it." - he commented after things calmed down, and the navigator sighed relieved.

"Phew, you're still here. For a moment there I thought you'd be gone, since I set the limit to only one spirit in the field." - she said.

"I don't think I'd be sent back to the other realm because of this. The spell binding me to the amulet and Aerrow is a lot stronger than this crystal." - he explained as he nodded to the general direction of the boy.

"I see..." - she said, then she rubbed her arm - "Hm... So... What was it you wanted to talk about?"

He waited a brief moment before answering.

"I wanna know what's going on between you, Aerrow and that man in our interrogation room. I can sense a lot of tension, and you obviously noticed Aerrow's acting different." - he replied to her - "Just... How did it come to this?"

She lowered her head, looking for a way to explain what happened, but for some reason it felt a little harder to talk about that all of a sudden.

"I-It's a long story." - she spoke quietly.

"I don't mind that. I literally have all the time in the world." - he shrugged - "Aerrow would say pretty much nothing about it, so I thought I could learn it from you. You seemed more willing to talk."

"What _did_ he tell you?" - she asked.

"Something about that man nearly handing over the Oracle Crystal to that Master you're after. And about preventing him from having a chance to do whatever else he did again." - he told her.

She sadly looked down.

"Well... I. J. Domiwick is a famous explorer. He used to be my idol, I looked up to him, to become as great an explorer as he was someday. But then we found out he was being sponsored by the Cyclonians." - she proceeded to tell him a summed up version of the story - "I couldn't believe he'd betrayed us all just for fame! So we made sure to find the crystal before he did. And then we met him a second time... He had put our friends, the Neck Deeps, and the whole Terra Aquanos in danger to find a way here, to the Far Side. Apparently he succeeded. And he even managed to almost ruin our rescue plan! All because I... I... If I had just..." - she trailed off, visually shaken by the memory that still haunted her to that day.

Sinjin noticed that and frowned in worry. He had no idea it was something that had affected her so deeply. No wonder the sky knight was so angry about all this, it had hit him on a personal level for a good reason.

"It's okay, you don't have to say anything anymore. I'll look into it myself." - he approached her and placed a hand on her forehead, then closed his eyes to focus.

Images flashed very vibrantly, all from Piper's point of view, as if he were seeing what she had seen with her very eyes. Images of the Cyclonians helping on the expedition to the Forbidden City, the many deadly traps they faced, Domiwick being defeated in a duel, Aerrow giving her the Oracle Crystal. Then it transitioned to the events in the lake. Domiwick being revealed inside a locker, her being attacked and her vision turning black, the explorer taking away the magma crystal and disappearing into the forbidden caves, Aerrow insisting for her to take his breather, and then him coming back alive.

He was impressed by the way the boy treated her. He was so caring and tender, it made him think of what he once was like... And then he noticed he didn't become better with time, at least, not in that aspect. The spirit opened his eyes and moved his hand away from her. She looked a little surprised and confused.

"What just happened? It felt so strange." - she questioned him as she put her hand on her forehead.

"I read your memories, the ones you were having difficulty in telling me." - he explained - "I'm sorry you went through all that. That man is indeed terrible."

"Then... Then you've seen how I failed in keeping him under guard." - she lowered her head, nearly crying from so much disappointment in herself - "That was all my fault. If Aerrow hadn't given me his breather, I'd not even be here now. And he... He nearly drowned because of me... I..."

"Hey, stop blaming yourself like that, you're being too harsh. It wasn't your fault." - he put his hands on her shoulders to try to calm her down - "Listen, you were a little softer on him because deep down you still believed there was something good in him, that he wasn't completely evil. Is it wrong to believe in the good of other people? I don't think so, in fact, it proves how much of a good heart you have, because you can see the light even in the darkest of places." - he said, and she lifted her head at that, so he dried a couple of her tears with his cape - "You should be proud of that, not many people are able to see past one's mistakes." - he smiled.

"Oh... I..." - she flit her eyes around a little nervous and hesitant, thinking about the matter.

"Now, now... You know I mean what I just said, I'm not one to throw away empty compliments. So let me see a little smile there." - he made her look at him again - "Aerrow's gonna have my head if he finds out I made you cry today. Even if it wasn't my intention."

She blinked, and then giggled. It was ironic because he wasn't even alive to begin with. She was quite amazed by how he managed to make such grim jokes sound funny. Well, obviously they were only funny when _he_ said it. If they were being told by a living person, they'd not be laughable subject.

"What? Just because I'm dead it doesn't mean I can't have my head cut off." - he joked again as he backed away a bit.

The girl giggled some more. There he goes again. He was in a grim joke spree!

"Thank you, for your words." - she said, rubbing a hand against one of her eyes to completely dry any lone tear left - "You have a good heart too. I'm sure there'll be a great place waiting for you when you arrive on the Zenith."

"Ah... Thanks." - he replied a little awkwardly, not exactly expecting a compliment, specially something that had to do with his morals like that, she didn't even know him...

"Now I'm the one who'll say I mean it." - she gestured to herself - "Kaya taught me how to read auras, and I've read yours."

"Oh, you... Did?" - he flit his eyes around as he placed a hand on the back of his head.

He suddenly felt completely uncomfortable. Now she probably knew every single one of his secrets, his mistakes, the things he regretted, the things he was ashamed of... And he didn't want her to know that. Specially when she was so much like... A certain someone he knew. Guess it served him right for reading into her memories without asking first...

"I haven't read everything, just enough to know a little more about you." - she assured him, then she lowered her head in pity - "You've had a pretty difficult past yourself. A lot of things you went through were personal too." - she said quietly, which made him look away with a slightly upset expression - "But... You give off such an impression that you're so strong to deal with all that. You don't have to keep everything to yourself, you know. If you ever wanna talk, I'll listen."

He nodded, then looked back at her.

"You... Remind me of a person I knew." - he said.

"I do?" - she asked curiously, to which he nodded again.

"Her name was Airi, she was someone I really cared about." - he told her - "You think and act just like her. What you said to me in the Temple made me wanna help your cause and make her proud. After all, you gave me a second chance, I'm not gonna waste it. So thanks for that."

"You're welcome." - she smiled softly.

They remained in a comfortable silence for a moment, both feeling more in peace with themselves after that little talk, when suddenly the ghost was pulled against the wall by some invisible force. He hit it with a light thud, which startled both of them.

"What's happening?" - Piper asked.

"I think Aerrow is on the move and I'm a little too far from him, so the amulet is pulling me along." - the spirit explained - "Guess I'll... Talk to you later..."

He then forcefully phased through the wall and disappeared. The girl looked blankly at where he last was. Now that was kinda abrupt. Sinjin floated through a few walls until he got near Aerrow again.

"Settle down, will you? Can't even talk to your girlfriend there to find out what's going on..." - the deceased monk scolded the boy as he flit his eyes in the general direction of Piper's room and adjusted his own clothes.

"What? She's not my..." - the sky knight retorted slightly confused.

"Whatever you're saying. I didn't even mean it that way." - he interrupted, as if the fact the word also stood for female friend was the first thing that should have come to mind - "And I can assume you still won't explain anything to me... Hm?"

The leader blinked a little angry. Just what was that all about? Why was he suddenly trying so hard to squeeze an answer from him? And what for?

"Alright, then... I'll find it out myself." - Sinjin said, then quickly grabbed on both sides of Aerrow's head, pressing his thumbs against his forehead.

The kid was stunned as a bright flash of light took over everything.

* * *

_After having come back from the lake in Terra Aquanos, Aerrow was taken to a room at an inn, where the Storm Hawks would spend the night until the Condor could be fished from the lake._

_"Here are your accommodations, Aerrow." - Tritonn said as the boy entered the room - "You better stay under the covers, so you won't catch a fever. I'll have someone bring you something warm to eat."_

_"I will. Thanks, Tritonn." - the young sky knight said as he walked towards the bed where he found some towels and blankets._

_All his friends that had followed him there left to go to their own rooms, except Piper, who stood by the door. She watched with a worried and uneasy expression on her face as he removed his shirt, tossing it on the desk, and enveloped himself in the towels. He sat on the bed and proceeded to dry his hair with another towel, when he noticed her gaze._

_"Are you okay?" - he stared at her, making her blink and shake her head._

_"I should be the one asking you that." - the navigator frowned._

_"I'm fine, don't worry." - he assured her calmly._

_"Don't worry? Because of me you had to risk your life in that lake." - she said - "This was all my fault."_

_"It wasn't your fault, Domiwick was the one who almost ruined everything there." - he let his hands rest on his knees._

_"He wouldn't have if I..." - she trailed off instantly, realizing what she was about to say._

_But it was too late, Aerrow had already noticed. After all, she was the one on guard duty that day._

_"Piper... Did he do something to you?" - he asked with a serious tone, and she stared at the ground ashamed in reply, which made him clench his fists and stand up - "Okay, I don't care if it's most likely we'll never see him again: if he ever dares to try coming anywhere near you, he'll have to go through me!" - he actually made a threat, pointing a thumb at himself._

_The girl smiled sadly and nodded gratefully._

_"That's not the point now..." - she said - "You didn't have to give me your breather and pay for my mistakes. I should've been the one left behind." - she placed a hand over her heart._

_Not on her life! He was the leader, it was his responsibility to guarantee the crew's safety to begin with. And that's not even considering anything personal._

_"I'd never let that happen." - Aerrow said as he sat down on the bed again - "And I didn't regret giving you my breather, not even once."_

_"So I'm not allowed to be in danger but you can put your life on the line like that?" - Piper gestured to the general direction of the lake, then walked closer to him - "You could've drowned!" - she felt frustrated._

_"But I didn't." - he said bluntly - "You're safe, and I'm right here, well and alive, am I not? That's all that matters."_

_"No, it's not! You're so reckless!" - she snapped at him in frustration, making him blink taken aback a little - "How could you just do that?! Did you even consider you could've died and we'd have been left without a leader? What would we do without you?" - her voice was shaken and her eyes were starting to tear up - "Don't you understand that your life means something to us? That we need you?" - she fell to her knees with her head down, a couple tears running down her cheeks._

_Aerrow's eyes widened, he no longer felt taken aback, in fact he was surprised. He had never seen her act that way. And even though she used the word "we" when she spoke, he could tell by the way she was pouring her heart out that she was referring mostly to herself. She was the most emotional one in the group, after all._

_"Piper..." - he crouched near her, and as he reached a hand for her, she lifted her hand._

_"Please..." - she said as she dried some of her tears with her hands - "Promise me you'll never risk your life like that again."_

_"You know I can't promise that." - he smiled in sympathy - "But I can promise to always come back."_

_Ah, that heart melting grin of his again. Only he could pull that off. The crystal mage shook her head a bit, a tiny sad smile gracing her features._

_"Oh, Aerrow..." - she said as she hugged him, both to apologize for putting him in danger and to show how much she worried and cared about him - "I was so scared, I thought we had lost you." - she buried her face on his shoulder._

_The boy returned the hug and didn't dare to let go, so she could hold onto him for as long as she needed. And while that, he gently patted her back to calm her down. He knew he had made her go through her nice share of worrying about his life with his near death stunts. And he acknowledged it wasn't fair with her, nor would it be with anyone. Feeling the pain from the loss of someone you care about was just as awful as being face-to-face with death, if not worse._

_But there was nothing he could do, he was that protective over his squadron, it was just who he was. The least he could do, though, was to do everything in his power to come back and be there for them. And that he could certainly promise._

* * *

Once their minds came back to reality, Sinjin released his hold on Aerrow's head. He almost felt a chill in his ghostly spine, that scene was so intense he could literally feel the girl's hug and her tears wrinkling his cape, since he had witnessed the memory from Aerrow's point of view. That meant it was a special memory. Probably because of his promise, he could see the boy took his oaths seriously. He recovered his composure before the kid could notice anything, though.

"Now I know it all." - he said - "See? Was it so hard to share?"

"What did you do just now?" - Aerrow asked with a creeped out expression as he backed away towards the wall near the door to the interrogation room.

"I read some of your memories, so I'll no longer bother you asking about it." - the spirit told him, then he stopped short - "Wow... I really was spot on earlier today... And to think I was just guessing." - he said to himself, which made the leader blink completely confused with what was going on in the monk's mind - "Anyways, you better go easy with this. I mean it." - he nodded towards the interrogation room.

"And what do you expect me to do? Lower my guard so he can play the vanish card on us? I don't think so." - the sky knight retorted.

"No. I'm just telling you to deal with this without blowing your nerves sky high." - Sinjin put it bluntly - "Look, that girl worries about you as much as you worry about her. And you're starting to scare her." - he said as he pointed again towards Piper's room - "Trust me, you don't wanna be the monster here. I'm saying this from personal experience. The horrified look on her face after you do something you won't be proud of is the last thing you wanna see."

Aerrow's eyes widened a little. That kind of hit home for him, considering some events that had happened, like when he had to bluff in order to prove the innocence of his squadron to the other sky knights.

_"Everyone stop or I'll set these things off!" - his voice echoed in the memory as the group of righteous heroes stopped dead on their tracks._

_"Give me one good reason and I'll trigger a chain reaction that'll turn this entire terra into a sandbox!" - it echoed some more while his friends looked at him completely terrified of what he'd do next._

And what would he have done if the sky knights didn't believe him? Would he have yielded? Would he really have set off an explosion? He couldn't believe that, for a moment, it felt like those questions were hard to answer.

"I... Didn't think about that." - the kid admitted.

"Now you know, so don't go overboard with your rage and vengeance mood." - Sinjin advised.

"Well, thanks for the heads up, I guess." - Aerrow shrugged almost indifferently.

"You're welcome." - he replied nearly on the same tone - "Take what I said seriously, or you'll go through the same thing I did." - then he looked away - "I think I'll just meditate for now. Please warn me next time you move like that."

The deceased monk sat down a few feet away, with his back turned to the kid, then proceeded to meditate quietly. Aerrow just frowned a little, then blankly stared through the glass door beside him from the corner of his eyes. The sight of their "prisoner" just sitting there with his head down was almost depressing. No, he didn't want to be a monster. He didn't want to have to play anything in anyway close to that kind of role ever again.

* * *

In the Night Crawler tower, far from where the squadron was, a merb scientist worked on a very big experiment. There were arrays of enhancement crystals carefully placed around the lab, some other crystals from the Far Side and many blueprints and other scrolls lying on the desks. The scientist was reading a few of them when the door behind him opened, revealing Cyclonis, who walked in unceremoniously.

"How's your progress, Dr. Sins?" - she asked as she looked around the room.

"As you can see, I've already built the structure that'll be used for the experiment." - he gestured to the arrays that led to a strange machine in the form of some kind of pod - "This is a very intricate design. What is it you're trying to achieve, Cyclonis?"

"Just reclaiming something I've lost." - she said nonchalantly - "How long until it's ready for use?"

"It should take a few days at most. And there are still some things missing: the Mirror Stone, a vessel and, of course, the remains." - he told her - "You should run a test first, so you won't waste such limited resource."

"The remains are being gathered as we speak, thanks to our way back provided by that map I had Domiwick make. He proved more worth than I expected." - she said - "The vessel is being researched and its material studied thoroughly. And as for the Mirror Stone, I'll soon have a squadron get it back from the Storm Hawks. They're currently being tracked down."

"You do have everything under your control." - he commented as he casually adjusted the sleeves of his lab coat - "No wonder you had certain fame in the Praetora Province, even though it's your first time here. There was no lie about your cunning."

"My family's line is very old. My ancestors have been here before, so it was just a matter of time until a descendant would come back." - the Empress explained - "Now I'll just claim what's mine by right and use all the resources left for me to recover my terra and my domain. Then I'll make everyone pay for what they did to me."

"So this is all part of your plan for vengeance." - he said quietly - "What do you intend to do next?"

"If you're wondering about your objectives, I'll have you know this one experiment is all I needed your help with." - she told him - "Once it's over, you'll be free to pursue your own goal with my resources, as long as you don't try to interfere with mine."

"My plans have nothing to do with yours, so you might not even see me around here after this." - he said while he corrected the position of one of the arrays of enhancement crystals - "But since we do have a contract and I'll be using your material at will, I'll remain reachable if you request something else."

"Good. I'll leave you to your work. I have important things to attend to now." - she left the room, the scientist going back to his task soon after.

* * *

The Condor flew stealthily in the clear sky, cloaked and hidden from anyone. The ship was completely silent to anybody outside, for it was enveloped by a soundproof barrier, but inside was a different story. That was being one agitated afternoon, and Finn couldn't help but be noisy. He was on the bridge playing his guitar, his legs resting against the round table as he lazily laid back in his seat. While he was playing it properly in tune, he was still absurdly loud. Stork came out from the interrogation room quietly.

"So?" - Junko asked.

"I was setting up a few things, so we can pressure him to talk again." - the merb said, then his shoulders dropped a little - "But I can't tell whether he's not easily convinced by our 'torture' methods or if he really doesn't know anything." - he made a gesture of quotes on the torture part.

Not a second later a very loud guitar sound echoed through the entire ship and everyone immediately covered their ears, glaring towards the blonde's general direction.

"Wow, I don't have actual ears and that sound still hurts..." - Sinjin commented as he squinted.

"Finn! Stop it!" - Kaya shouted at the boy from where she was in the corridor with the rest of the squadron - "We can't hear what we're talking about here!"

"Ugh... Fine..." - the sharpshooter said as he stopped playing and headed towards them - "Haven't you spent long enough trying to make him spill the beans? This is getting pointless."

"Finn, why don't you quit complaining and help us interrogate him?" - Piper crossed her arms impatient with his childishness - "You haven't tried to help us with this yet."

"And what would you have me do?" - he questioned her nonchalantly.

She smiled a little with a hand on her chin, having thought of something.

* * *

Shortly after, the squadron had brought a gramophone into the interrogation room, along with a few discs. The blonde walked to the man like he was minding his own business. Clearly unnecessary acting, since there was only one thing a person could ever want from a prisoner they were interrogating: answers.

"So... Hm... You into rock?" - the boy asked, to which Domiwick blinked weirded out.

"No...?" - he replied.

"Perfect!" - the kid smirked, then quickly placed a pair of headphones on his head and pressed a button that played some of his loud music.

The explorer just sighed unimpressed, his shoulders dropping.

"Is this supposed to be some kind of torture? Because all it gets to be is slightly annoying." - he said.

"Fine, then, because I'm just starting." - the boy pushed part of the headphone off the man's left ear - "Now you're gonna watch an exclusive show: the best Terra Wallop can offer!"

He took a few steps back, so Junko could come closer. The wallop sprayed something in his own mouth and the sharpshooter could be seen putting on a pair of earplugs on the background. At that, Domiwick seemed to get where that was going: suddenly, the flight engineer proceeded to sing the famous wallop folk roar, well, more like scream it out loud.

"This is ridiculous..." - the blonde man grumbled.

"What? I can't hear you!" - Finn shouted and made some gestures to annoy him even more.

The explorer just growled quietly at what they were putting him through. One had to give them credit that they could be really irritating if they wanted to. After quite a while, the big guy finally stopped yelling.

"And that was the first song! Did you like it? Because Junko has more left!" - the sharpshooter removed his ear plugs.

"Yep. Usually a folk roar concert covers a collection of about 65 roars!" - the wallop spoke excitedly, to which the man grimaced - "I'd just need a few minutes break between them."

"Will you listen? I don't have the answers you're looking for." - Domiwick said - "Cyclonis obviously knew better and left me in the dark in case you captured me or something."

"Hm... So music shows aren't your thing, huh? Well, we got something else too." - Finn ignored what he had just mentioned - "We'll bring theaters to you!"

And only a few minutes later, he, Junko and Radarr had put up a projector and a screen, along with a few cushions and even yorka juice and flame corn. The wallop made himself comfortable with the cushions and grabbed the bottle of juice and the paper bag with the corn.

"Oh, this is gonna be good." - he said excitedly as he ate some of the popcorn.

Radarr set a roll of movie and put the projector to run. The single light bulb in the room was turned off as the image appeared on the screen, making a countdown. Finn suddenly appeared in front of the man again.

"Now this is the best movie in our whole collection!" - the boy told him as the flight engineer's face appeared on screen, snoring loudly - "Too bad the roll got burned a little and now the length is reduced to 5 hours and 55 minutes from 6 hours, but I'm sure you can manage it." - he shrugged, to which Domiwick blinked in disbelief at how long the movie was - "Junko here is gonna make sure you'll watch it until the end." - he said, and the man briefly looked at the wallop smiling in an uncomfortably convincing way - "I'll let you have your fun. See ya." - he moved two fingers, signaling his goodbye, then he and Radarr left the room.

Once he closed the door behind him, the others approached expectantly, with exception of Aerrow, who stood stoic near the door frame just like he was during most of the day.

"Well...?" - Piper inquired.

"No luck. I'm still trying, but he just said Cyclonis never let him learn about her plans." - Finn told them - "Maybe he really doesn't know anything."

"And maybe he does and is trying to stall us, but we'll crack him eventually." - the sky knight said as he uncrossed his arms - "But first, we better make sure there really is no one attempting to follow us. I'll go do some scouting, so Kaya and Radarr will be on guard duty for a while." - then he turned to the two of them specifically - "Can you keep non-stop watch for just a little while? I won't take too long."

"Uh... Sure." - the little girl said - "I'll keep my eyes and ears on him all the time, literally." - she then pulled out a holographic screen from her pocket and it had live footage of Domiwick and Junko inside the room.

Radarr also saluted, then he sat by the door like a guard dog. Mr. Softy appeared and also sat near the co-pilot, volunteering for the job as well. Aerrow nodded. He'd definitely come in handy with that sticky saliva of his in case that guy tried to escape somehow. Plus, it was great to see how they were taking their duties seriously. He knew he could count on them.

"If anything happens while I'm not here, give me a heads up and I'll come back right away." - he told them as he walked down the corridor.

"Don't worry. If that guy blinks you'll be the first to know." - Kaya said reassuringly - "Be careful on your patrol."

"I will." - he replied.

"Just one second, Aerrow." - Piper said, which made him stop and turn around - "You better take a cloaking crystal with you, so you won't be spotted in case we're really being followed."

She tossed one to him and he caught it with his left hand. He smiled, put the crystal in his pocket and made his way to the hangar bay.

* * *

Soon the sky knight was outside, completely invisible, and Sinjin sat on the co-pilot cockpit.

"Yeah... This thing here doesn't seem more comfortable than the back of your ride." - the ghost commented about the tiny seat - "It's as if it was specially made for your little friend to fit in here, not a person."

"I guess so. Piper and Finn did complain about the lack of room for the legs last time they sat there." - the boy told him - "If you want to, you can sit on the back."

"It's fine. I'm just a ghost so that doesn't really matter much." - the spirit said casually as his legs phased through the cockpit, allowing him to completely stretch them - "Besides, I can get a better view of our surroundings from here. In the back I'd mostly be watching what's behind us."

"You have a point. By the way, how come you're not invisible along with me and my skimmer?" - he asked.

"I don't know." - the deceased monk shrugged - "I guess some crystals, maybe most of them, don't really work on spirits."

"You sure nobody can see you?" - the leader insisted, since they couldn't take that chance.

"I can only be seen by someone with an attunement with the other realm or by my temporary vessel, you. Other than that, only a channeling crystal would let me be physically summoned." - the departed warrior explained - "So unless that Master you're after somehow knows I'm here, I doubt her men brought a rare crystal that can summon spirits along."

"If you say so..." - he had to agree, though, then he peered over his shoulder at the general direction of his ship - "The Condor seems to be well hidden too. Hard to think someone could've followed us like this. See anything suspicious?"

"Well, there's something way back there, near where we came from." - Sinjin said, nodding to the direction.

"What? Where?" - the kid asked, unable to see anything at all.

"Use those, they're really far." - the ghost pointed at the binoculars the boy had brought.

Once Aerrow put them, he saw very far in the horizon a tiny dark dot that could only be a Night Crawler. He put the binoculars down quite perplexed.

"Just... How did you even see him? He's so far away I almost couldn't spot him with peepers and all." - the Storm Hawk couldn't believe that dead guy in the cockpit had such sharp eyesight. It wasn't even humanly possible!

"I didn't exactly see him. I went through the same kind of training you did back in the temple, so I already have better senses than normal." - the spirit told him - "But ever since I died I've been able to pickup energy from all living beings nearby. So that's how I knew he was there."

Well, that certainly explained a few things.

"And how long was he there?" - he inquired.

"I'd say ever since we flew away with a hostage and the crystal they were after." - Sinjin put it bluntly.

"You knew that all along? Why didn't you say anything?" - the boy demanded.

"Your ship is completely camouflaged. He can't track it down, he's just going blindly in the direction you flew to." - the monk said - "By the way, where exactly were we headed to?"

"Nowhere. We were supposed to fly an erratic route to no specific place, so we couldn't be followed." - the sky knight spoke - "But not so erratic that we'd get lost. I guess that's why it's not working."

"You can't really know for certain. I don't think they found us yet." - the blue haired young man commented.

"Yeah, maybe they didn't. But still, I think we should disrupt them, just in case." - the kid considered - "Let's go back first and tell the others about this."

Aerrow flew them back to the Condor in an instant, he couldn't waste time, Cyclonis was doing everything to track them down and they had to counter her plans.

 


	33. Episode 60 - Part 4

 

 

 

**Episode 60 - The Third Degree**

**Part 4 - The Siege**

Inside the Condor, the squadron wasn't having much success prying Domiwick's mind open. Of course, they were kind of holding back a little with their... "Torture" methods, since they were in general against it, but maybe Aerrow did have a point that it'd take more convincing to get the man to talk. So far what went on in that afternoon didn't turn into too much progress.

After the nearly six hour movie about Junko sleeping, having the explorer reject the flame corn and the yorka juice several times in a row, which was probably the only thing that kept his sanity while watching that dragged video, the wallop had gone outside, then came back with some snacks, if one could call them that: they were some weird kind of snail with tiny tentacles. Oh, and they were still alive.

The man blinked creeped out and in disgust after seeing the plate being hovered in his face.

"Here you go, a little snack so you won't starve." - the big guy told him.

"Yep, those are his specialty." - Finn said from his position near the doorstep.

"I'll pass." - Domiwick replied.

"Oh, that's just mean. Don't you know it's rude to refuse your host's food?" - Kaya scolded him - "Now you'll eat it all up, and you'll do so smiling, or else..." - she threatened, to which he grimaced.

Apparently Aerrow wasn't the only one who should be feared in that ship. This new girl, while small, was definitely something else. She knew how to make a very convincing threat, alright. He already knew better than to mess with her, something instinctively told him she was much more powerful than she looked. Since he had no choice, he let the flight engineer toss one of those snails to him. Ugh! It tasted like rotten seaweed! And it was completely slimy! Eww!

"Oh, yeah, here, freshly squeezed berry juice." - Junko pulled the glass out of nowhere and offered it to him.

The man looked at the glass and no longer knew what he was more disgusted at. And... Was that hair in the juice? He turned his head to the side and upon seeing the little girl eyeing him intensely, he sighed and drank a sip of the juice. Oh, Gosh! It was so sour he could feel his lips being sucked into his mouth! And, of course, being the very same fruit, a beard berry, that once caused dismay to the squadron in their vacation in Tropica, suddenly, a long blonde beard grew on his face, making him look like a blond Santa Claus.

"You did this on purpose... Didn't you?" - he asked quietly, staring unimpressed at the wallop.

"That's for us to know." - the sharpshooter remarked, to which the man didn't show reaction.

"Now that's one long beard." - the Grandmaster commented, then she saw Mr. Softy poking his little head from behind Junko's shoulder - "Hey, Mr. Softy, what do you think? You look like you wanna give it a little grooming."

The fat caterpillar wiggled his bum and waved his little arms at that. He wanted to play his part in all that craziness that was going on that day.

"Well, go ahead, little buddy." - Junko encouraged their mascot.

The insect jumped off his shoulder on the ground, then he suddenly spat a sticky string at the man's beard. He did so for a little while, then bit and pulled on it, as if he were trying to turn it into some kind of cocoon thing. Domiwick felt absolutely sickened. That just wasn't... Happening. No, it was happening. It was hard to believe he was wide awake, because all that seemed like one creepy dream.

"Wow, it looks so silky!" - Kaya commented - "You should be a hairstylist, Mr. Softy!"

The little caterpillar smiled proudly. He did have a knack for it, if one could look past the fact that he used his saliva to do that... People usually would be grossed out. Well, maybe Junko wouldn't, he seemed to be more tolerant than most people. Having that much patience and comprehension was a rare virtue.

And, incredibly enough, even though Aerrow had been angry all day, he usually would've been the second most patient one in the squadron. The two of them were almost always calmer in a situation in which the others were closer to freaking out. But, yeah, everyone knows the more composed and reserved people have the worst snaps when they do get angry. No need to say that twice.

"So, you in the mood for telling us the truth?" - Finn asked the man.

"I'm telling you again. I don't know anything." - the explorer replied angrily - "I told you I didn't speak to Cyclonis ever since we made a deal! She probably knew you'd come after that crystal and sent me as bait or something, without letting me know."

"So you're saying she used you, just like last time..." - the Grandmaster remarked with a taunting smirk.

"It doesn't matter, that's not the point." - he said, pretending he ignored the comment, but he was clearly failing at that - "I don't know her plan, I don't have the answers you're after. How many times do I have to say the same thing?!"

All inside the room just stared blankly at him, their eyelids lowered halfway in front of their eyes.

"Fine then, let's go, guys." - Junko said as he picked Mr. Softy up and headed for the door, the others following him.

"Dude, you _are_ a waste of time." - the sharpshooter referred to Domiwick then turned to leave as well.

They locked the door behind them, leaving the man alone in the tight dark room. Outside, they just pondered about their results along with Piper, Stork and Radarr.

"Yeah, I'll admit he's tougher than he looks..." - the little girl said - "And do I hate having to say this."

"I can't believe we didn't convince him. We tried everything, we were even nice to him!" - the wallop didn't understand.

"Hm... Junko, I don't think he took those things as being nice. They were meant to annoy him." - the navigator commented, then she looked away almost bitter - "But then again, he wouldn't be able to recognize kindness even if it was right in front of him."

"What should we do now? Torture him for real?" - Finn asked while shrugging as if he didn't know what else to think of.

"Fine... I'll get in on that action." - Stork suddenly said as he walked inside the room.

The others watched him almost surprised by his unexpected volunteering. The blonde smirked a little, as if he were thinking that ought to be a good one.

* * *

In the Night Crawler tower, Cyclonis was in the same room she occupied everyday. She stared at a holographic monitor that showed the area her three scouts were covering. Soon the doors opened and the yellow eyed dark soldier entered the room.

"You summoned me, Master?" - he bowed respectfully.

"Are the preparations finished?" - she asked.

"Yes. The elite squadrons are ready to fly off at your signal." - he told her.

"Perfect. Head to the planned position and wait until the scouts deploy their gear." - she ordered.

"As you command." - he curtsied once again and left the room.

He walked to the big hangar bay and signaled for the other Night Crawlers to fly, then he set flight as well. A considerably large group disappeared in the sky.

* * *

The merb was in the interrogation room, quietly fiddling with the equipment he had brought inside a wooden crate in front of Domiwick. The sound of some mysterious objects hitting one another in the middle of that heavy silence certainly made their prisoner a little fretful and unnerved. Finally, the merb turned to him with a blank expression.

"I set some things that are bound to make you talk, so it's your choice if you'll go through all of it or none." - he said almost eerily.

"Guess I'll go through everything, since you won't believe anything I say anyways..." - the explorer responded.

Ignoring the comment, the carrier pilot picked a small glass cage up, brought it closer to the man, then opened it, releasing a green dotted spider from it. The small creature walked to the explorer's shoulder and stayed there, not moving at all. He nervously looked at it, now that was a creepy animal.

"This is the scarletma razor-fang arachnoid, the deadliest and most poisonous creature on Atmos. It ought to make you spill it." - he said to him.

The rest of the guys watched from the outside.

"Wait, but isn't that the...?" - Junko was about to say, when the others shushed him.

"Yeah, but he's playing him." - Finn explained, to which the wallop "oh"ed in realization.

Inside the room, the man remained uncomfortably silent for a brief moment, until a few things occurred to him.

"On Atmos? The whole world or just anything beyond the Far Side?" - he asked almost skeptically - "I encountered creatures that looked much worse than this." - he nodded to the spider on his shoulder, which irritated it and caused it to bite him.

He suddenly burst out laughing from the bite. The small arachnoid got startled and jumped into Stork's hands. He looked a bit disappointed. So much for trying to pass down the impression that this wasn't the harmless scarletma tickle-fang species. Domiwick ceased laughing shortly after, since the effect of the bite quickly wore off.

"That thing isn't poisonous! You were just trying to trick me!" - the man said like it wasn't obvious.

"Of course, this one here was just a warm up for psychological effect." - the merb figured a good comeback to keep his plan solid - "You haven't witnessed true terror yet."

Well, that certainly sounded ominous and all, but for some reason it didn't really create such a strong impression of it on the mood. Maybe because the Storm Hawks were a bunch of goody-two-shoes who'd never truly threaten anyone. One could dare say they'd not hurt a fly, just to emphasize the point.

Next thing Stork tried was to lower the temperature of the room quite considerably, the walls could be seen starting to freeze the water in the air, and the atmosphere felt heavier.

"Beware of the dangers of the cold! You'll have your limbs out in no time, unless you start talking right now." - he said sinisterly.

Outside the room, Piper could only facepalm. Now that was just plain silly... It wasn't even that cold in there... One light coat would solve the issue easily. And just as she predicted, the blonde man wasn't disturbed at all by that.

"Are you serious? The worst that could happen would be my hands and feet getting a little numb. There's nothing too worrying about that." - Domiwick spoke.

"O-Oh, you think you're not gonna f-freeze to death?" - the merb questioned him, trying to prevent himself from showing how cold he was.

"At this temperature? Of course I won't. I can even take something colder than you, I see your knees shaking." - the explorer remarked, foiling that tactic.

"Hmpf... I'm f-far from done, though." - he quickly adjusted the temperature back to the normal warmth, relieving him a lot - "How about you take on the heat, then?"

He adjusted the temperature to the hottest level it could get. It felt like an oven inside the room, both started to sweat like two waterfalls.

"Well...? Are you... Gonna talk now...?" - the merb asked between all the panting.

The air was so hot it was harder to breathe.

"I already said... I don't know... Any... Anything..." - the man replied just as affected by all that heat - "Fool... This is... Wearing... On you... As much as... It is... On me."

That was true, but Stork didn't give in to that. They remained in the infernal heat until they heard someone beating on the door, then it opened shortly after.

"Turn it off! You're overheating the engine room with this." - Junko warned urgently.

The carrier pilot had to quickly lower the temperature to cold for a little moment and then go back to normal, otherwise they'd have lost the Condor.

"You're lucky the ship couldn't take it." - Stork mumbled to Domiwick, then left the room.

A few minutes later, he came back with a small black book and a plate of merb cabbage. He sat by the small table he had set with his tools and casually started to eat while reading his book.

"Just what's this smell?" - the explorer inquired, his face twisted at how bad it was.

"That's my lunch. Can't take a break in peace anymore..." - the Storm Hawk commented as he quickly finished his plate and went back to work.

Kaya and Piper exchanged glances. Couldn't he at least have tried to read the book to him or something? It could've helped with the creepy and depressing mood. Well, seems like he had lost that opportunity this time. The rest of the afternoon, he tried his methods one after the other, ranging from things like setting up some eerie fog and darkening the room to make things "scary" to attempt to displease and maybe even agonize him with mindworms.

Yep, that's right, Stork had gotten his hands on a protected cage filled with those things. How he had gotten it would be forever a mystery to the others, but it was impressive nonetheless. Yet, it only proved those "terrible worms" weren't as dangerous as he previously thought... Unless Domiwick had an insane state of mind from the get go. That'd explain how he wasn't completely overwhelmed by them.

At last, the carrier pilot exited the room, feeling a little tired and disappointed his attempts didn't work.

"Well, as you could see, I didn't get anything out of him." - he said quite calmly and aware of his "failure", which made the others stare at him - "Excuse me while I retire as the team's torturer."

Everyone blinked. Since when did they ever have a position for a torturer or executioner in the squadron? Still, they could understand his feelings, he did try very hard in there.

"So what's next? We tried being convincing... In a creepy way. Being annoying, tried torture, but nothing worked!" - Finn said a bit frantically - "Is there anything else left to try? It's not like being _nice_ to him is gonna help."

"But we can't give up. Sooner or later he'll have to say _something_." - Junko concluded, which made sense, in a way, and Radarr and Mr. Softy nodded in agreement.

"Yes, but it can't be way too much later. We need answers as soon as possible." - Kaya commented.

"Oh, don't look at me now." - the merb suddenly warned them - "I tried everything I could think of, and I ran out of ideas."

"Everything?" - Piper repeated, raising an eyebrow skeptically, almost sounding like she was teasing him a bit.

"Everything moral, at least." - he amended a little irritably - "And you all know that I've been there with him for a good while."

"We know you did what you could, Stork." - she assured him, then turned to the others - "I was thinking we should try a different approach: instead of having him answer something he claims he doesn't know, we could make him tell us what he does know."

"That sounds like a good idea. Who is going in for that one?" - the Grandmaster asked.

"I guess I'll go. I haven't walked in there so far." - the navigator told them as she stepped in front of the door.

However, as she was about to turn the knob, she suddenly hesitated. Something was holding her back, she felt as if she was scared of going inside.

"Uh... Piper? Aren't you going in?" - the wallop asked after a little while she had been just standing there.

"Yes, but... I think I'll wait a little bit for..." - she began, not wanting to let the others know she was no longer secure about going there alone, even if the others were watching closely.

"Is there something wrong?" - the little girl questioned her, sensing she was a little disturbed.

While Kaya could just read her aura and know what was going on, she thought it'd be best if she spoke her feelings out loud, so everyone could help comfort her. The first officer gave in... There was no point in trying to hide that now.

"I don't wanna go there alone. I don't feel... Safe." - she admitted - "Also I might need some help."

"Do you want us to come in with you?" - the flight engineer offered.

"No, too many people inside wouldn't work right." - the crystal mage told them - "Besides, it'd be best if it was someone with a more... Personal influence on this. Like... Like Aerrow." - she concluded.

Everyone had to agree that, other than Piper herself, the only other person who might have taken that subject personally was Aerrow. And speaking of him, the familiar sound of his boots clacking against the metallic floor echoed in the corridor as he approached them, having come back from his patrol.

"What are we waiting for, then? I'll go with you, Piper." - he responded to her line of thought, which made her smile gratefully and nod.

He took a couple steps towards her, Sinjin following close behind, and she was about to open the door when she stopped once again.

"Since I just want him to tell us what he knows, we can't try to pressure him too much, so you'll have to go easier on him." - she told him.

He remained solemn for a moment, then replied.

"Don't worry, I won't ruin your strategy there. I'll stay quiet near the door then, watching over just in case." - he assured her.

Yeah, that sounded like a good plan, it'd certainly make things safe, since he'd be there, and easy going enough for the man to feel more willing to say something. The girl turned the knob on the door and both walked in, the ghost coming in right before the door was locked behind them.

Domiwick was quiet, he wouldn't say a word upon seeing them coming in, yet he somehow faced them. Aerrow leaned against the wall, his arms crossed. He looked strangely relaxed, probably just so he wouldn't raise the tension in the room. Sinjin walked to a corner of the room and sat on the ground as if meditating. She could guess he was only there for more support and to be an extra pair of eyes on the lookout.

She slowly approached the man and stood in front of him, completely silent. It was as if she was expecting him to say something first. And so he did.

"What? Are you going to demand me to spill the beans too?" - he asked like he was snarling at her.

Ignoring his tone, she just shook her head.

"No. I want you to tell us what you _do_ know." - she said to him.

"About what?" - he inquired as if not wanting to waste his time talking about useless information.

"About anything ever since you got to the Far Side." - she specified - "Like how did you get here, for starters?"

"I swam... What else?" - he responded cynically.

"Really?" - she replied sarcastically and unimpressed - "And how did you get past the beasts from the lake? We also learned the caves are like a maze, but even worse than the Forbidden City's."

"Well, my Domiwick beasts weren't as thoughtless as you had claimed." - he told her - "They didn't attack me and just swam through the tunnels when you scared them off. They even disabled a trap in the maze. After following them for a little while I made it to a shore in the Far Side."

"And what happened after that?" - Piper asked - "In the weeks between you arriving and Cyclonis coming to the Far Side?"

"Weeks?" - the explorer raised a questioning eyebrow - "The moment I got out of the shore I escaped some hostile natives, went underground, crossed a canyon and ended up in her tower. We made our deal once I got inside. All that took about a year or so."

The girl blinked, then looked at Aerrow who had a hand on his chin in thought.

"Hm... This confirms the fact time runs faster here than in the Atmos." - he commented what Henny had once told them, and the time matched with her report.

"Well, what was the deal?" - she turned back to the man.

"She'd let me use her resources to explore and would broadcast my progress to the Atmos. In exchange for being able to use anything I brought that could be useful." - he explained - "She also had me map the Endless Caverns."

"Why did she want a map?" - the navigator inquired.

"She never told me. I suppose she was thinking of going back to the Atmos through them." - he shrugged - "But I wasn't able to make a full map, because there was a point where we couldn't swim any further. It was like there was some kind of barrier preventing us from going back."

"Did she manage to get through the barrier?" - she questioned.

"I don't know. I haven't seen her or her Night Crawlers say anything about it." - he told her - "And they won't even address me if I ask. Like I said, she keeps me in the dark."

Aerrow looked at the ground in order to keep his expression concealed. Yeah... Of course she would keep her plans from him. Why would she share anything with such a weak end like him? At least he was still telling them a few slightly useful things...

"What have you been doing since then?" - the first officer asked.

"Expeditions. I brought many artifacts back, even crystals she acknowledged as rare, but didn't pay them mind." - Domiwick said - "The only things that mattered were the map, this crystal I was after and... Some traces I found indicating there was a scripture about some kind of crystal forge somewhere around here. That was supposed to be my next mission."

A crystal forge, huh? Could it be the same one mentioned during the reunion with the council in Liberty Reign? If so, then that'd make a lot of sense, considering the guess of Cyclonis's ultimate plan they had there. Apparently she was insane enough to go truly through with it.

"Where's the scripture you're talking about?" - the girl leaned in a little.

"I don't know yet. Cyclonis wouldn't let me study the traces to figure out its location." - he explained - "She said I'd only do that when actually going for the mission. It's as if she knew I'd be captured and didn't want to take risks."

"Then where are the traces? And what does she need the Mirror Stone for?" - she made a double question.

"They were taken to the tower, so tough luck getting to see them." - he replied - "And she never said anything, but I assume it has to do with the experiment she's working on with this new... Man she hired, since she was urgent about getting her hands on it."

"New man? Is he a scientist? Expert on anatomy to be precise?" - she asked.

"So you know him." - the man said as if not too surprised - "Yes, and he's the creepiest merb I've ever had the displeasure to meet."

"What does he do there? What's this experiment?" - Piper inquired.

"He's been studying scrolls Cyclonis had given him, and he's building some kind of machine she designed herself." - he told her - "I don't know what it's for. It doesn't look like anything I've ever heard of."

So Dr. Sins was building something. He didn't seem like one who knew about the tech part of science... But appearances are definitely deceiving, it looks like he knew a thing or two about machines. A machine for the Mirror Stone... What could it be for?

"And as for the scientist?" - the girl changed the subject, since she knew she'd not get anything else about the machine.

"What about him?" - he nearly snarled.

"What are his goals?" - she inquired.

"How would I know? I've never spoken to him." - he said - "His presence creeps me out and makes everything feel uneasy. Shows you the kind of people Cyclonis looks to hire."

"As if you're one to talk when you were hired yourself." - she commented on his arrogance.

"She didn't come looking to hire me, I stumbled on the tower and made a deal." - he retorted - "That's a whole different thing."

"What else can you tell us? Do you know the tower's location? Secret entrances, what the rooms have inside and their purpose..." - Piper pushed him to talk once more.

"The area around the tower is now protected by a huge cloaking barrier, you can't spot it." - he explained - "Once Cyclonis figured out you had come to the Far Side she doubled security. The tower's inside has so many traps I don't even try to wander around so I won't set one of them off. I don't have much detail on that."

The girl paused for a moment to think if there was anything else she could ask. It seemed like they really got everything they could out of him. It wasn't that much, but it at least confirmed some suspicions and let them in on one thing or another that they had no clue of. Now they had a better chance of guessing what the Empress had in store. She turned to Aerrow leaning against the wall.

"I think we learned everything we could from him." - she told him.

"No more questions then?" - he asked, to which she shook her head - "Then we should get going. We need to decide what to do with him now."

Both left the room, and the man saw the boy nodding towards the door while staring at one of the corners of the room. He briefly flit his eyes to the same direction and saw nothing. Just what was that kid looking at? And he had also noticed he was wearing a golden amulet, but he couldn't figure out what it could be for.

In the corridor, the three were met with hopeful gazes from the others. They waited silent for a second, but upon seeing they weren't talking, they just had to ask.

"Did he finally say something? You were there for a good while." - Kaya inquired.

"Yes, he said a lot of things." - Piper told them - "Not much more than what we already knew, but he did mention one new thing or another."

"Well, then tell us what he said!" - Junko could no longer hold his anxiousness.

"We'll fill you in on the way to the bridge." - Aerrow said, pretty much signaling the others to follow him - "We need to discuss what to do with him and fast. Night Crawlers are tracking us, I spotted one far away in my patrol."

"Are you serious?!" - Finn was almost shocked - "But we're totally camouflaged! How did they find us?!"

"I don't think they did yet, but they're surely trying hard." - the sky knight responded - "It'll be just a matter of time until they track our position if we stay in this area any longer."

"Should I set a course to one of the reigns?" - Stork asked.

"No. I'll go outside one more time to see where they seem to be headed to, then I'll signal you to go to a different path." - the leader said as he quickly made his way to the hangar bay, Radarr following him close behind, along with Sinjin who would be dragged regardless of anything. The others stayed behind as the navigator placed some maps on the round table to see where they'd be going next.

Once the boy mounted on the skimmer, he saw the co-pilot staring at him expectantly. He wanted to join him like usual, he was growing bored of watching Domiwick all the time. Plus, Kaya could do that job just fine on her own with the extra cameras and sensors she tossed in the room.

"Hop in, buddy." - the red haired kid nodded to the cockpit, which made the little animal chirp in delight and jump to the seat he always belonged to.

After his two passengers were set, Aerrow accelerated his skyride and shot out very fast, immediately cloaking the trio with the cloaking crystal he had with him. They flew towards the direction the Condor had come from.

"Do you sense him?" - he asked to the ghost.

"Yes. He's still there, same distance from us as last time." - the spirit told him.

"Then let's take a closer look and find out what's going on." - the boy said determinedly as he flew them towards the scout Night Crawler.

As they slowly approached him, they were in for a little unpleasant surprise: the dark soldier suddenly sped up a lot and flew past them fast as a lightning bolt. For a moment it almost looked like he was charging at them and they even braced for impact, but it never came.

"Just where is he going?" - Aerrow asked to himself.

"I don't like the looks of it." - Sinjin commented with a serious expression, something bad was about to happen.

The scout soldier rapidly went past the Condor and stopped quite a good distance ahead of it. The two Storm Hawks on the skimmer blinked, while the deceased monk watched cautiously. He had a feeling of what was going to happen right after. And he got it right.

"Commence the encirclement." - Cyclonis told her scouts from her room back in the tower.

Just as Sinjin briefly predicted, the Night Crawler dropped something that summoned a huge barrier, like a fence around an yard. It had covered a very large triangular area.

The moment Stork saw the force field appear right in front of the Condor he screamed, for he didn't have enough time to fully stop the ship. It rammed against the barrier, the force of the impact greatly damaging the triple barrier shield Piper had set up, revealing a now vulnerable Condor. Everyone inside it was pushing themselves off the ground.

"What's going on?" - Finn asked frantically.

"It's a siege!" - Junko warned them as he pointed at the dark cloud full of Night Crawlers flying towards them.

As they observed, then saw that this time they weren't the ordinary purple and red eyed Night Crawlers. The group was led by the yellow eyed Night Crawler they had met in Techne Reign, they had glowing orange eyes and extra armor and gadgets. Nonetheless, the Storm Hawks all went to the hangar to fight outside and protect their ship, except Stork who remained by the helm.

The two squadrons clashed in a fierce aerial battle. There were hundreds of blasts of energy being shot in all directions by both parties. Junko and Finn covered each other's back in perfect sync, thanks to the training with Kaya the previous day. The blonde would shoot and hit all his targets flawlessly, while the wallop used bombs for an area attack and caught any incoming enemy who dared get into melee range with his bare hands, dismantling their skyrides as if he were ripping a piece of paper in half.

Aerrow would fly in the middle of several enemies, Radarr shooting at them with a modified slime crystal, extra sticky, gluing each skyride on one another making an "Indian line". As they couldn't get out of it, they were dragged towards the front of the Condor, where Stork shot them all down with its cannons. Now that was great teamwork.

Piper and Kaya provided support from a distance. The crystal mage shooting blasts with varied effects to disturb and stagger the dark soldiers and the Grandmaster blinded enemies from afar in her Xeedwox form, then burned them with her phoenix form. The two girls noticed one thing, though: not longer after they had been taken down, the Night Crawlers appeared again, their rides completely unscratched.

"This isn't good. What did Cyclonis do this time?" - the navigator wondered.

"They have a repair matrix installed on their armor, no matter how many times we strike them down they'll keep coming back." - the little girl commented - "We gotta retreat."

And they weren't the only ones aware of that. Aerrow had noticed something was wrong too, but he wasn't about to give up the fight. He kept slashing at each one of the enemies, taking them out one after the other. They'd come back again, but he didn't stop attacking. The only problem was that he was starting to get worn out and the Night Crawlers were perfectly fine. He'd not be able to keep with that for too long, they needed a plan.

Finn and Junko were still clueless about that, until the wallop had taken down an enemy with a bomb and just a few seconds later he came back unharmed.

"What?! How did he do that?!" - he was alarmed.

"Did what?" - the blonde asked from his cover position behind him.

"I just blasted him away and he came back like nothing had happened!" - he warned the sharpshooter.

He shot at the Night Crawler with a missile once more and yet he came back. He repeated that a few times.

"Just. Go. Down. Already!" - he was starting to feel frustrated.

Soon the Night Crawler appeared right in front of him, in melee range. The big guy then grabbed the wings of the skyride with a smirk. Hah! Now he'd rip it in half, let's see that thing coming back after that! But when he tried, for some reason it was much harder to do that, it was as if the soldier's armor had become more resistant. That was a bad sign.

Upon realizing he could no longer break the skyride with his bare hands, he laughed nervously at the Night Crawler. The orange eyed enemy smirked evilly and shot a powerful blast from point blank. Junko was pushed with his skimmer by the force of the impact, luckily the skyride was still able to stay afloat, but it was severely damaged.

"Junko! You okay, big buddy?" - Finn asked as he flew closer, but then he saw the other dark soldiers coming at them incredibly fast.

He shot at them but this time all he did was barely stagger them, for they were much more resistant and his arrows no longer worked.

"How come they're so much stronger?!" - the flight engineer asked almost desperately.

"Well, who could know there'd be an elite _within_ the elite!" - the blonde commented.

Those Night Crawlers were clearly far more advanced than the ones they had faced in the Atmos. They were more coordinated, more combat skilled and their equipment was a lot better. Overall they were much stronger than the average Night Crawler. And nobody could guess whether they were the same ones, just trained better, or completely new soldiers.

When the two noticed they couldn't stand a chance against that swarm of powerful enemies, they decided to get out of their vicinity. They flew away, Finn shooting behind him in order to slow the Night Crawlers down. But, as always, he was a magnet to disaster: one of the dark soldiers aimed carefully and shot a piercing blast that cut his skimmer in half.

"Oh, c'mon! Even here?! Why always me?!" - the sharpshooter complained about how he was a target who'd be taken out exactly the same way over and over, nearly every single fight.

And, as usual, he also landed crotch first in front of Junko's skimmer. He winced in pain, but not as much as he used to. It was almost as if his body had accustomed to the pain. Well, at least that was a good thing, maybe one day he'd not feel anything at all.

"You really have a bad luck streak there." - Junko commented.

"Now I can get that out of my list of 'to do in the Far Side' things." - the blonde said a little dismayed.

Yet, even after becoming pretty much harmless due to the damage on their equipment, they weren't left alone: more Night Crawlers flew towards them to attack. But Piper came to their rescue. She had shielded her heliscooter and rammed against a few incoming skyrides.

"Guys, we gotta stop fighting them." - she warned - "The more we damage them, the tougher they get!"

"Then why are we still here?! We should run away!" - Finn responded as another wave of blasts showered over them.

"Head back to the ship, I'll cover you." - she said as she used a nil crystal to quickly fix Junko's skimmer so they could get out of there.

The two did as they were advised without hesitating. The girl flew towards the cloud of enemies, using paralyzing crystals to make them go numb, then icers to freeze them solid. Apparently the only way to hold them back was to stun them, instead of beating them.

Aerrow was holding off a few of the Night Crawlers, when one of them jumped on his skimmer, knocking Radarr out of the cockpit in the process. The boy tried to push the enemy out so he could fly after his co-pilot, but his sore muscles from the excessive fighting didn't let him do so. Yet, to his relief, Kaya grabbed the little guy with her claws before he'd hit the ground.

"Got you, little buddy." - the Grandmaster assured the animal, who chirped in relief.

The sky knight smiled, grateful for the backup of his partner, but his distraction cost him his not so great advantage: the Night Crawler on the skimmer grabbed his left arm and another one quickly jumped in and held his right one, both holding him in place. He couldn't move, their grip on him was firm, like he was chained to two pillars strongly attached to the ground, and their armor gave them an edge in strength. His struggle was useless, and thus he was hindered immobile and defenseless. He glared at them. Oh, yeah, with armor that augments your abilities of course they could take him down that easily. The cheaters!

Finn and Junko had managed to get inside the Condor while Piper drew the focus to herself. However, with nobody else to shoot at, since Aerrow was safely immobilized and Kaya had to protect an unarmed Radarr, the rest of the Night Crawlers proceeded to shoot their strongest blasts at the navigator. She saw her force field weakening and flickering around her. She gasped and immediately used her crystals to strengthen it, but it was no use when they were bashing so hard against it that the power she poured on it was drained instantly. Her shield was finally down and a blast pushed her off her heliscooter.

"Piper!" - the sky knight shouted while Sinjin had been trying to materialize himself to help him.

The moment the ghost saw that he changed his plan and quickly dove after the girl. He managed to materialize only his hands just in time to grab her forearms and stop her fall. She blinked surprised, she really thought she was a goner a second ago. He used the energy he had left to pull her with him back to her skyride and dropped her on her seat after his hands suddenly disappeared. He panted, clearly exhausted. Who would have guessed spirits could get tired and worn out?

Aerrow watched just as surprised, then he noticed the deceased monk giving him a thumbs up to signal the crystal mage was okay. The kid smiled, he did look out for her when he couldn't. He meant what he had said when he offered his help. The girl sighed relieved.

"Thanks for the save." - she said to the ghost, even though he knew she'd not hear his answer or see his reaction at that moment.

He grinned a little nonetheless. It felt good helping people in need, almost made him remember his glory days, back when he was alive. Everyone would say he had been a hero in his time, even if he didn't think of himself like that. He pushed his thoughts aside and materialized only his index finger to poke Piper on the shoulder and then point at her crystal compartment. She eyed it for a moment until it finally came to her. The girl opened the compartment and pulled out a Binding Crystal.

" _Titan's Might!_ " - she shouted as the green energy enveloped her and a beam was shot at Aerrow, giving him the same energy.

"Now that's more like it!" - he smiled.

Oh, yeah! With that boost, those Night Crawlers would regret trying to pin him down like that. He forcefully moved his arms, dragging both soldiers along, after twisting himself around a little, and knocked one enemy against the other, pushing both off his skimmer. But before he could cheer his freedom, he saw the cloud of Night Crawlers flying straight to the Condor.

"They're trying to break through!" - Piper warned.

"But they won't." - Stork said from his position at the helm as he fiddled with some controls - "Initiating lockdown."

Suddenly, extra reinforced plates came out of the ship, they covered everything: every hatch, window, even the tiny dents between an armor plate and another. In other words, it was like the ship was double armor-clad. One thing that it missed, though, was the yellow eyed Night Crawler hiding between the usual armor and the reinforced one, then opening a hatch and entering the ship. The merb ran a scan and saw something had been detected in the air ducts.

"There's something inside the ship." - he said slightly alarmed.

The place was already dark because the plates blocked any entrance for sun rays, but then it became even darker when the lights went out, Finn and Junko gasping scared, while Mr. Softy cowered on the latter's shoulder. The three Storm Hawks and their mascot had to go to the corridor to find the intruder. But he found them instead. He leaped at them from the air duct, knocking them down with its hatch. Then he used a purple crystal to place a cage around them, so they'd not try to stop him.

"Now that you don't have that crystal mage to help you, you can't do anything against me." - he smirked as they were electrocuted when gripping on the bars.

It was almost sad that he was right. The dark soldier made his way through the ship, eventually snatching the Mirror Stone from Piper's lab and even breaking into the interrogation room where Domiwick was held. He used a crystal to release him from his binds.

"So you were finally sent to aid me." - the explorer said arrogantly.

"I came for the crystal." - the Night Crawler replied - "But the Master still might require your abilities. So I'll bring back what she needs."

Talk about having one's importance shoved down below the ground. The man followed the soldier to their way out. They walked to a control panel and the Night Crawler manually disabled the Condor's lockdown system. The Storm Hawks in the bridge were startled after seeing their protection barriers going back into their special hatches. Soon the dark soldier was out, taking Domiwick along by his shirt.

"I've got both items, Master. Should we attack?" - he asked to his communicator.

" _No. Have the squadrons leave at once._ " - the Empress' voice told him - " _And bring me the crystal immediately, I'm not risking it being caught by them again._ "

"As you wish." - he signaled to the other Night Crawlers and they suddenly flew away.

After just a few seconds they activated some kind of speed boost that made them all shoot out in the sky with an intense flash of light so fast they disappeared instantly without leaving traces. At least, not traces that could be followed. It almost reminded Aerrow of how Cyclonis had teleported herself away from the infirmary he had been recovering at when he was injured. The squadron could only watch perplexed.

* * *

The Storm Hawks quickly reunited in the bridge to discuss their plans. Finn had checked Piper's lab and had just come back to tell the bad news.

"Yeah, they took our crystal." - he said.

"And Domiwick's nowhere to be found. The interrogation room was busted." - Junko told them after coming back from the lower deck.

"This isn't good. Cyclonis wouldn't send such a strong squadron to guarantee she'd get the Mirror Stone back if she didn't need it so much." - Piper concluded - "We gotta find out what she's planning to do with it."

"I think I should start mobilizing the Guardians. Things are looking ugly, we might have to interfere to protect our future." - Kaya said - "Which means I'll have to say goodbye for now."

"Wait, you're leaving?" - Aerrow asked, and the others looked almost hurt by those news.

"Only for a little while." - she assured him - "The place where the Guardians are is very far away, so it'll take a few weeks to go there and come back."

"Can't you send one of those messages in the stars to them?" - Stork inquired while pointing at the sky.

"It might be risky. Considering Cyclonis has so much technology she could have something that might intercept my message. We better stay low." - the Grandmaster explained.

"Well, what about our next destination?" - the sky knight questioned her - "And the recruiting of the reigns?"

"The recruiting might have to wait a little bit. I think it'd be best if you guys trained this time." - the little girl suggested - "I wasn't expecting they'd get ahead of us so fast with all the training I've been giving you guys. But they did. And you know they'll only get stronger, so you guys need to catch up and surpass them."

"Then where should we go next?" - the navigator asked.

"There's a special place: the Astral Training Grounds." - Kaya told them - "You should head there right away, it's a little far, but it'll be worth it. Both Sinjin and I have trained there once. It's the best place ever."

Aerrow glanced at the ghost, who nodded in response.

"Alright, let's set a course, then. And who will be our guide while you're out?" - the leader inquired.

"I'm sure Sinjin can help with it. I'll leave you guys some channeling stones so you can communicate with him in the Condor." - she placed one on the ground, fiddled with its control support and the field enveloped a small round area.

Soon the deceased monk was visible, greatly startling the other squad mates who hadn't seen him yet.

"Woah! You were watching me like this the whole time?" - Finn asked creeped out.

"Uh... No... I didn't follow you in the bathroom or something if that's what you're worried about." - Sinjin replied unimpressed - "I can't wander too far from the amulet, so I was pretty much sticking next to Aerrow all the time."

"Phew, what a relief..." - the blonde relaxed at that.

"You're in guide duty now, Sinjin." - Kaya said to him - "Watch over them while I'm gone, okay?"

"You can count on me. We'll go straight to the training grounds." - the ghost spoke.

The child turned into a bird and flew extremely fast in the skies, the squadron waving and wishing her a good trip. Then the Condor took off to their next destination.

* * *

In the Night Crawler tower, the yellow eyed soldier brought the Mirror Stone to Cyclonis, who waited in Dr. Sins' lab. Domiwick stood by the door, just discreetly peering by the small opening as the Cyclonian bowed and handed the crystal to her.

"Perfect. We're just one step away from completing the experiment." - she said as she placed it on a support specially built for it.

She let out her evil laugh that echoed in the tower as the scientist kept making a few adjustments on the machine. Whatever was it she was trying to do, it was something big... And bad. Very bad.

 

* * *

**NEXT EPISODE:**

**Episode 61** (parts 1, 2, 3 and 4)


	34. Episode 61 - Part 1

** Episode 61 - The Comeback **

**Part 1 - A Success with a Failure**

It was dark and cold, it was the very bottom of the water body. An underwater tunnel, to be precise. There was seemingly no sign of life, until a shadow passed by, followed by many others. Those were the blue and rose tusked whales with red glowing eyes that had been stuck in that tunnel for all that time. They swam calmly, having gotten used to the environment, but then something disturbed them. A strange light in the form of a thin vertical line appeared, then it grew wider. It was a rift being tore open, and from it came out the yellow eyed Night Crawler in diving gear: band mask, swim fins and cylinder.

The beasts roared at him, but he remained unfazed and simply used the device attached to his chest to summon another even more menacing monster to scare them and, finally, launched crystal imbued nets to immobilize them, quickly controlling the threat. He swam past them unharmed until he reached a blockade. He blew it up with his gun and went outside, to the waters of the lake in Terra Aquanos. He stared upwards, it seemed like it was nighttime, so he quickly deployed a diver propulsion vehicle and shot to the sky, smoothly getting out of the water, activating his flying gear and taking flight.

He flew for a good while, until he reached the thunderous area with the reddish sky. He flew downwards looking for something, and he sighted it: there, crashed on a large stalagmite from the Wastelands, was none other than the detached Cyclonia. He pulled out a green crystal and spoke to it

"Master, I found it." - he said - "The rift was a success."

Inside her room in the castle in the Far Side, Cyclonis received the message through another green crystal.

"Perfect. Send the collectors on a thorough search. I'll need every last bit." - she ordered.

"Acknowledged." - the Night Crawler responded from his position hovering the fallen Terra, then pressed a button on his armor that made it work like a beacon so he could be located by the other dark soldiers squadrons.

Soon, several Night Crawlers could be seen in the distance coming closer. The yellow eyed soldier smirked evilly. The plan was working flawlessly so far.

* * *

Night Crawlers swarmed the area, flying around quickly and precisely, while many others dug and pushed the ruins of the castle to search. One of them was digging a certain place, until he found some differently colored dust, then he ran a scanner from his wrist. The red light turned green, confirming it had something he was looking for. He carefully picked that dust up and put it inside a plastic for samples. Some other Night Crawlers who had also found that kind of dust did the same.

Those ones instantly teleported away with a warp crystal and appeared inside an underwater base in the bottom of the lake of Terra Aquanos as more came teleporting in to Cyclonia. In the base there were some Night Crawlers constantly monitoring the open rift to keep it stable. The ones who had teleported there passed through the rift, appearing on the small beach Domiwick had been to when he arrived on the Far Side. On the beach there were more Night Crawlers monitoring the rift from that side. They teleported yet again to the tower.

They needed to teleport twice and go through the rift because the warp crystals couldn't transport the user from the Far Side to the Atmos and vice versa thanks to that barrier they had found when exploring the caves with Domiwick. So the rift was their solution. After appearing inside a laboratory, the Night Crawlers placed the dust on a device that scanned it for a while. It was a tall metallic machine with a screen, a metallic plate under the scanner, and a glass storage compartment beside it.

" _Sample type: organic. Analyzing genetic code..._ " - it said - " _Match confirmed._ "

The device suddenly selected the specific pieces it needed and threw away the rest of the dust, then took the remaining portions to the storage compartment, where there was already more of that same material inside. Under the compartment was a scale. It measured the weight of the compartment's contents and at the same time showed the value of the weight they were supposed to reach beside it. So far, they were almost reaching half of the necessary weight. It'd certainly take several more hours, if not even a couple days to do it.

In another large laboratory nearby, several other Night Crawlers were conducting another experiment. They had a machine with a glass container where a reddish piece of crystal was placed, and some lasers around it that shot rays at the crystal as the soldiers read over some research papers signed by Dr. Sins. After a little while, words appeared on a screen above the container. They said: " _Structure is optimal for reception._ " Then the crystal piece was taken and placed on a large cauldron that melted it. The cauldron was nearly full of molten crystal being continuously stirred, so the entire mixture would be homogeneous.

Not far from the cauldron were some more Night Crawlers working on a kind of metallic mold that was going to be used on the liquefied reddish crystal. It was rather large and had a somewhat humanoid shape. Of course, it wasn't finished yet, so the humanoid didn't have any features that could make it identifiable.

On yet another laboratory, Dr. Sins was building the machine Cyclonis had requested. He was making a few adjustments on the support for the Mirror Stone, tweaking its position so it'd be fully aligned with another support for the Binding Crystal, a platform where the vessel was supposed to be and a huge and powerful laser aimed at the crystal and the platform. He walked away from the support and towards a lever. He pulled it to make a testing light ray shoot out from the laser, and it hit the Mirror Stone, the Binding Crystal and a mark on the platform correctly. He nodded once, satisfied with the result, but then he stared at the enormous array of enhancement crystals in thought.

"Just how much power can she provide for these...?" - he said to himself, wondering if Cyclonis's resources were indeed that vast.

It was hard to believe a single person could have access to so much inside that one tower. Especially when many things that she would certainly need were only found elsewhere and couldn't be moved at all, like the optimal place to perform such a huge experiment, for an instance. He could foresee the problems if it didn't work. It'd be a long day... He could only hold onto a very slim hope that it wouldn't be necessary to do that. That she truly had everything she needed. Still, it'd be interesting to know for sure.

Speaking of the Empress, she was in a separate room, isolated from everyone, to be able to concentrate on the task she had set for herself. She was standing in front of a small device on top of a pedestal. It was a metallic box with a few tiny lamps of multiple colors and a transparent crystal on top. On another pedestal was a decay crystal. Cyclonis focused to make the deadly crystal float and glow, then she shot a beam from it at the transparent crystal. The device measured the energy absorbed from the crystal. So far it didn't light up any of the little lamps.

But, suddenly, it lit up one yellow lamp. The girl frowned angrily and focused more. The machine lit up a green lamp, then it faded and a red lamp was lit. She growled impatiently and continued concentrating. The red lamp faded and the green lamp lit up again. Then, along with the lit green lamp, a blue lamp started flashing. Cyclonis smirked. She had reached the perfect energy pattern. But, then, a knock on the door and said door opening caused her to lose focus, making her shatter the crystal with her sudden shift in control. She angrily turned to the door.

"I said I didn't want any interruptions!" - she yelled.

Standing by the door was Domiwick. He blinked at the yell, but held his ground, after all, they had an agreement, so they were supposed to be on equal grounds. He shouldn't fear her as if he was under her.

"Cyclonis, I have a complaint." - he began - "It's been days since you made all your Night Crawlers work on that experiment of yours and I haven't been able to explore. You said I'd go out freely with a squadron always accompanying me. I want that squadron now."

"You'll have to wait for one of the squadrons to finish their task." - she responded, turning away from him and back to her experiment - "Why don't you do some internal research until then?" - she made another decay crystal levitate from its storage compartment to the pedestal where the previous one was.

"And how long is that going to take?" - he crossed his arms - "I'm tired of being kept in the dark, just what are you doing that made all of them busy?"

"That's certainly none of your concern. We can't forget how easily you cracked under the slightest pressure." - she said in a calm manner that felt extremely menacing - "You should be thankful I'm keeping our agreement at all after you could've cost me my plans."

"I-I only got caught because your Night Crawlers don't listen to me." - he tried to defend himself - "They sent me ahead on my own unprotected. If I had a squadron that obeyed me, like you gave one to that merb, none of that would've happened!"

She was starting to grow impatient with that man, but before she could do anything, the door opened once again and a Night Crawler came walking in.

"Master, the doctor needs to speak with you about the experiment. It's important." - he told her.

She furrowed her eyebrows slightly. She was expecting something to have gone wrong already... Then she eyed Domiwick. Ugh, so many things to take care of...

"Very well, you can have one." - she yielded just to be rid of him, then walked past him and turned to the dark soldier - "Assign a squadron of Night Crawlers under his command."

The hooded servant bowed, then signaled to the explorer so he'd follow him. Everyone left the room, Domiwick casting a rather distrustful glance behind him at Cyclonis. He better start watching over himself from then on. Who knows when that girl could decide to dispose of him... She couldn't be trusted.

The Empress walked to Dr. Sins's laboratory. He was doing a final check on the machine he had built.

"What did you need to speak to me for?" - she approached and went straight to the point - "Did something go wrong?" - she inquired.

"No. Not yet, at least." - he replied, not even a little fazed with her demanding attitude - "I'm finished, and everything is correctly in place and functional. The device should work perfectly, if you have what it needs to do so."

"And that means..." - she wanted him to fully explain what it was already.

"Power. This machine will require an enormous amount of energy to work. Way more energy than this whole tower and everything inside it use at once." - he told her while gesturing to the building - "Do you have access to that kind of power right now?"

She just stared at him for a second.

"I've been considering a possible lack of power in the tower, so I've already sent some scouts to find a better area for the experiment in case it doesn't work here." - she said as she looked away - "They should come back with their report soon."

"So you knew it could fail here. Why not build everything in the new area right away?" - he asked, trying to understand her motivations. It'd be important to know the way she thought, the more he could learn about his new client, the better.

"It'd be too risky." - she furrowed her eyebrows - "We could be intercepted on the early stages of development. At least here I can guarantee all the necessary equipment will be ready. I need this experiment to work more than ever, no matter the cost."

"What if it exhausts your resources? How do you intend to put your other plan about the Helix Crystal in motion afterwards?" - he was rather curious of the reasons she had to consider that experiment so important that she made it a priority even over her supposedly main plan.

"If this is a success, I can reacquire all my supplies quickly and easily complete my other plan, because I'll have an unstoppable force under my command." - she explained with a smirk - "Sometimes you need allies before you go after more resources."

"So, basically, this is a bet." - he summed up - "You are quite the risk taker."

"Those who take no chances get no rewards." - she responded.

And just as she finished saying that, a Night Crawler came in.

"Master, we finished collecting all the remains, and the vessel is ready to be built." - he told her.

"Begin all the preparations. We'll run the experiment now." - she ordered, to which the soldier bowed.

The complete mold was laid down and opened in half. As the liquefied reddish crystal was poured on it, one Night Crawler placed the Medulla Crystal on the middle, then the other half was put on top of it as the molten mixture finished filling the entire mold. The mold was then moved to a glass cage where freezing jets of air were shot at it, to cool the crystal down so it'd solidify again and take the form of the mold. After a few seconds, the glass cage was lifted and the mold was released, revealing the vessel.

It was tall and somewhat slender. It was a rather familiar shape, and the Medulla Crystal was found at the center of the chest, like it was its heart, its core.

The crystal sculpture was carefully placed on the platform of the machine Dr. Sins had built, right near the support of the Binding Crystal. Beside it was the glass container with the remains the Night Crawlers had worked the whole day to gather. Cyclonis walked to the other platform, near the laser. She turned to the scientist.

"Start the device." - she said.

He pulled a lever that turned the machine on. The arrays of enhancement crystals lit up and static ran through them. The laser was also finished readying itself to fire. The merb signaled to her that the device was fully operational and she could begin her part. She levitated a decay crystal in front of her, and after focusing for a moment, she made it shoot a beam of energy at the laser machine. The cannon absorbed that energy and concentrated it on a very tiny place. From that place it shot the super thin ray at the Mirror Stone. The crystal did its job and passed forward a thin ray of light with the very opposite effect. That new beam collided with the Binding Crystal and it started to glow.

The green crystal would need to absorb an enormous amount of energy before it could pass it forward to the vessel. Dr. Sins was in charge of monitoring the energy output. So far it had reached less than half the necessary level.

"It needs more power." - he warned her.

"Deviate all the energy of the tower to the machine." - she told him, without removing her eyes from the crystal in front of her.

He messed with several switches and pulled another lever. All the lights went out, only the bright static of the device and the glow of the crystals illuminated the laboratory. The energy output was now at around 65%.

"Still not enough." - he said.

"Try using the emergency generators." - she urged.

He turned two valves, then pressed a few buttons and pulled a large switch. The power reached 97%.

"Almost there, just more 3%." - he informed her.

Cyclonis looked around, searching for something she could use. She spotted a crate of raw crystals. She lifted her arm to make all the crystals in that crate float, then she burst all of them into a pulsating ball of energy that she threw at some lightning rods installed on the lab to use as the last boost in energy.

"It's 100% now." - the doctor confirmed.

But just as he said that, the sound of the power being completely depleted and the machine shutting down was all they could witness. Everyone was left in the absolute dark, until Cyclonis drew her staff to her hand and lit up one of its crystals. She sighed angrily and disappointingly as she pressed her forehead with her thumb and index finger and squinted her eyes.

"Well, it went the way I was expecting." - Sins commented casually, not at all surprised with the failure.

"I wanted to avoid having to move the experiment... But I don't have another choice." - she said, then she turned to one of the Night Crawlers - "Ready the squadrons. I want maximum security during the transport."

"And where do you intend to take the machine to?" - he asked, in case he'd need to make some kind of modification to it.

Before she could answer, a squadron of scouting Night Crawlers came flying in from the window near the ceiling as the power came back to illuminate the tower, and they landed near the Empress and the scientist.

"We found a place, master." - their leader brought the news as he showed her a hologram with the recorded footage of the area.

It was at the top of a really high mountain, the sky was pretty dark and lightning would strike very often.

"Hm... Yes... This looks adequate." - the merb said with a hand on his chin as he moved closer to the hologram - "I can build an array of rods to capture as much energy as possible." - he pulled out a paper with the blueprint of the machine and drew the rods on it with a pencil, then he turned to the girl - "Each strike has a ridiculously high amount of electricity. If the machine gets hit consistently, it can be powered up fully by lightning alone."

She stared at the hologram in thought.

"But if it doesn't, the energy might be cut short and it'll shut down intermittently." - she concluded, considering all the failure possibilities way ahead - "I'll take 20 cargo ships of raw crystals along to keep it powered in between the strikes."

She couldn't allow that experiment to go wrong a second time, especially when they'd have to do it out in the open, where they could be caught. If she didn't want all the time, effort and resources put into it to be in vain, she had to make sure it would work right away the next time she tried it.

"Very well, I'll attach a customized high efficiency crystal converter to it." - Dr. Sins decided as he drew it on the blueprint - "It'll only raise the required power for the machine to work by 0.0000000001%, which is the equivalent of one single raw crystal."

"How long will it take to make all these changes?" - she inquired.

"A couple hours at most." - he told her.

"Good." - she nodded once, then she turned to her servants - "Prepare the ships. We'll use the demountable ship to transport the machine. Reassemble it there now, so Dr. Sins can install the modifications on the way to the new area."

The Night Crawlers rushed to the device and started carefully dismantling it into its smaller pieces, then quickly took the pieces to the demountable carrier ship in the hangar bay and started rebuilding it in its cargo hold. After a while, they were finished, and securely placed the vessel and the glass container on their platform. During that time, the doctor had already been working on the crystal converter, so he simply proceeded to attach it to the machine. Soon after, he began crafting the lightning rods.

Domiwick had been readying himself and a squadron of Night Crawlers to take off to an exploration expedition, when he entered the hangar bay to get a skyride and saw all the movement. All of the soldiers, except for the one squadron under his command, were moving things around, gearing up with multiple weapons and armor, gathering crates and more crates of raw crystals. He could only stare. Whatever was going on was something really big.

It was then that he glanced at the machine as the gate of the cargo hold of the demountable ship was closing. He blinked at how huge it was, but then he caught a glimpse of the vessel right before the gate closed shut, and it left him agape. He simply couldn't believe what he had just seen. Wait... That was...! He turned to look at Cyclonis standing way up on the balcony of the ship, his eyes wide in shock. Did... Did she really have that kind of power?! Could she just play the role of some omnipotent god now?! That was certainly horrifying. He helplessly watched all the ships soaring and flying away, only him and his assigned squadron remaining on the hangar bay.

Climbing a stalagmite outside the tower, hidden from it on a blind spot was a cloaked person. They peaked at it and partially deactivated the cloaking so only their piercing light gray eyes could be seen. It was a man, he was tall and slender. He blinked and gasped after seeing all those ships flying at once like one solid army.

"This is bad..." - he said to himself - "This is really bad. I need to warn those Storm Hawks guys."

He then reactivated the cloaking crystal to reapply the invisibility to his eyes, leaped off the edge of the stalagmite he was on and flew away with a jetpack that deployed a pair of short wings to make maneuvering easier. He had to find them fast! That Empress had already set a really huge plan in motion! He could only hope he'd not be too late...

 


	35. Episode 61 - Part 2

** Episode 61 - The Comeback **

**Part 2 - Race Against Time**

The Condor flew in the skies silently. Ever since Kaya left to warn the Guardians, the crew didn't feel as uppity, for the last news they had received were that Cyclonis had dangerous plans in mind, and their defeat by the Night Crawlers lowered the general morale. They never thought that even after some tough training they've had they'd take such a beating. But they had their own plans too: they had been instructed to fly to a special place where they could train really hard - the Astral Training grounds, somewhere they had to learn more about from Sinjin.

And speaking of their ghost passenger, after the Grandmaster left some channeling crystals with the group, Piper had placed them around the Condor at key points, and set them to activate only when Sinjin stepped into their area. That meant that as the spirit wandered around within a certain radius around Aerrow's position, he'd appear out of nowhere in certain points of the Condor, so that obviously caused quite a few scares. The latest one was with Finn.

The blonde was walking in the corridor, heading to his room, when the deceased monk walked inside the area of one of the many crystals set on the ground and was instantly materialized. The sharpshooter screamed in fright as he nearly jumped, putting his arms and one leg in front of himself protectively. He then relaxed his position after recognizing the monk.

"Stop doing that!" - Finn shouted.

"Doing what?" - the spirit eyed him weirded out.

"Scaring me like that." - he responded.

"I won't do anything, no need to be scared..." - Sinjin spoke, his shoulders dropping unimpressed.

"I know, but you popping up all of a sudden still startles me." - the sharpshooter crossed his arms.

"Well, there's nothing I can do about it. I'll appear whenever stepping into the channeling fields, whether I want or not." - the ghost said, then he shrugged - "You'll just have to get used to it."

Yeah... That'd not be so easy, especially when that guy was rather reclusive, which made the boy sometimes forget he was there at all. He'd keep mostly to himself, but he still knew how to socialize and had sincerity in his tone. He didn't exactly appear to be comfortable with being too close to anyone, but he seemed to be open enough for a bit of an acquaintance thing. An awkward silent moment passed.

"So... You enjoying the trip?" - the blonde broke the silence.

"Uh, yes. Traveling with this group is being... Enriching, to say the least." - the deceased monk commented.

"That's cool, man." - he replied, to which the ghost clearly noticed he didn't fully understand what he had meant - "How long ago did you...? You know."

"I died? I don't know, a few hundred years maybe. Why?" - the spirit inquired a reason for such question.

"Just asking." - the kid shrugged - "You still know your way around?"

"You're worried if I can guide you all, huh?" - the dead young man observed - "Yes, I still can navigate, even after centuries gone and all the changes. I see things in a different way, I view the world I remember on top of this new one, that's how I can localize myself. And some areas barely changed, like this path we're going through."

"Then you planned this route before." - Finn realized, to which Sinjin nodded.

"Kaya had this in mind when she suggested the course before she left." - he explained - "The place we're going to is kinda far, so we better travel as concealed as possible. This is a secret path. It's impossible to be tracked down and only a few people know how to get here."

"So we should be safe from the Night Crawlers if we stick around here." - the blonde concluded.

"Yes. Unless there's a Hooded Shadow that knows this place. But that's very unlikely, otherwise they'd be swarming us by now." - the ghost said.

"Uh... Yeah... You're right." - the boy grimaced at the thought of a mass invasion against the Condor, specially considering they were totally owned in the last fight, he decided to change the subject - "So, you had any hobbies in your time?"

"Hobbies?" - the spirit repeated.

"Yeah, something you like to do in your free time." - the sharpshooter explained.

"I know what a hobby is." - the dead young man clarified - "And no, not really, unless training hard until you collapse counts."

"You liked that kinda thing?" - Finn raised a questioning eyebrow.

"When you're meant to be a fighter, training to get stronger and skilled becomes your purpose in life." - the monk said - "The lack of other activities makes it easier to enjoy the training too."

"So all you ever did was train?" - the boy asked.

"For a long time, yes. When I wasn't training my body, I was training my mind through meditation." - the soul told him - "The only times I stopped my routine were to actually fight or save someone."

"How did you just do that? Didn't you get tired of it?" - the blonde crossed his arms.

"It all comes down to finding entertainment in what you do, even in the seemingly most boring task ever." - Sinjin smiled knowingly.

He had already managed to sense that kid was all about fun and games. While that could help make a dispiriting situation more bearable with focusing on bringing the mood up, it could make it harder to consider certain things interesting to do if they're not "fun" enough. This also meant that kind of person might be less likely to cooperate on tough team tasks. He could even picture it...

As the ghost thought about that, Finn smiled to himself. Yeah, the spirit had a point about what he had said. Finding entertainment in what you do... He did do that before a few times. Anything could be fun if you try to spice things up a bit.

"Heh, I guess you're right." - he said - "Like when I made my own squadron in Terra West. I taught them how to be cool like me and it was really fun. Being the leader is awesome!"

The spirit laughed, yet something came to his mind.

"You know, you don't need that self-promotion you do all the time." - he began, to which the blonde looked at him with a raised eyebrow and a questioning stare - "I already can see your past through your presence and your belongings."

"So you messed with my stuff?" - Finn was suspicious.

"Look, I can't spend energy to materialize myself often. I didn't move anything around, that I can assure you." - the spirit said.

"Still feels like my privacy's been violated." - the sharpshooter mumbled.

"I'm not nosy... I saw nothing personal." - the Sinjin insisted - "And what's the big deal? You know most of my story, so it's only fair I learn a little about yours."

"Fair enough." - the kid eventually agreed - "So, what feats you have?"

"Hm... Well, I reached a whole new level in martial arts, won countless fights, I guess I also won a record for the longest fight ever with over 36 hours of non-stop..." - he listed.

"Woah, slow down, 36 hours? And that's the only kinda deed you have?" - the blonde questioned him.

"What type of accomplishment were you expecting? That I got rich, ruled a kingdom and married someone I liked?" - the ghost shrugged.

Finn stayed quiet for a second until it sank in.

"Oh, so you _had_ a girlfriend! I almost thought you never cared about that stuff." - he said like he was insinuating something.

"No, she wasn't my girlfriend, we didn't really start anything. She... Died before we had the chance to." - the spirit told him.

"Oh... Sorry about that. But... Didn't you get to see her after you died?" - the blue eyed boy asked.

"No. She went to a way better place than me, the Zenith. I was punished for something I did so I couldn't enter. But you guys gave me the chance to redeem myself and be accepted there." - he explained.

"Ah, that's great! I'm happy you'll see her again. Hey, what's she like?" - Finn was curious about what kind of girl drew that stoic monk's attention - "Is she pretty?"

"Of course I think she's pretty, liking her affects that, even if you think she's not for you." - Sinjin said, to which Finn's shoulders dropped disappointed at the lack of a description of the girl.

"Okay, point taken. Was she nice, then?" - he asked hoping to at least get a better answer on that one.

"I could say your friend there reminds me of her sometimes." - he nodded towards the general direction of Piper's lab.

"What... Her?" - Finn looked towards the lab, then back at the monk and repeated that once more, finally, he sighed - "I swear, you guys have the weirdest taste in girls..." - he placed a hand on his forehead like he was facepalming.

Sinjin blinked. He really didn't expect that last part... He ignored querying further about what it had implied, though, for he had other questions in mind.

"What's the problem with her? She seems to be a great person." - he asked.

"Sure. It's great to be overly demanding." - the kid rolled his eyes - "And she can be such a show off with that perfectionism of hers too."

"Hm... You're not one to talk when you brag as well." - Sinjin said.

"But when I do it I don't sound annoying." - the sharpshooter responded.

"Pretty sure everyone sounds the same when boasting about themselves." - the spirit raised an eyebrow at his logic.

"Well..." - the blue eyed boy tried to think of a comeback, but he just didn't have a good argument to back that up - "Okay, never mind all that. Let's just change the subject."

"That's something I can agree with." - a voice suddenly said.

Finn immediately jumped frightened and screamed like a girl at the strange voice's sound.

"Don't look at me, I didn't do anything this time." - Sinjin crossed his arms dismissively.

"Pardon me for startling you." - the voice spoke again, approaching the two - "But I have urgent news I must tell your leader about."

They turned to look at the person addressing them. It was a tall and slender man. He wore a dark hood that cast a shadow on his face, concealing it, but his light gray eyes were still visible and were as piercing as daggers. His clothes were also dark, they were somewhat puffed pants, army boots, a skintight long sleeved shirt, a belt with some gadgets, gloves, a scarf and a vest he left unzipped so both halves hung loose beside him. The two blinked at the stranger, Finn looking a little confused and surprised, while Sinjin remained solemn.

* * *

Everyone was soon reunited in the bridge around the round table. In clockwise manner, they were Aerrow, Radarr on his shoulder, Piper, Stork, Junko, Mr. Softy on his shoulder, Finn, the hooded man and Sinjin beside Aerrow. Their foreign guest was about to tell them the news, but first, he introduced himself.

"I go by the codename Mr. X." - he placed a hand over his chest - "I'm a spy from Liberty Reign. I lead the Umbralurkers guild."

"I think I remember you in the leaders meeting." - Aerrow put a hand on his chin in thought - "You were sitting on the last chair across the table."

"Yes, that was me. When the reunion was over, I mobilized some of my followers to form a small task force that'd watch the Hooded Shadows tower." - he told them - "This morning I saw something that might be of great interest to you." - he pulled a purple crystal from his pocket and placed it on the table.

The crystal shot out a light field, and within it a hologram of the tower was formed. It showed the enormous army of carrier and warships moving out from the tower and disappearing in the distance. All the Storm Hawks gasped.

"Wow, what's going on there?" - Junko asked - "I-Is Cyclonis planning to attack already?"

"I don't think so." - Piper leaned closer to the hologram - "From the formation of the ships, it looks like they're escorting something." - she gestured to one slightly different looking ship and the warships flying around it.

"That was my guess too after I noticed they weren't going to any reign." - the spy commented.

"What could she possibly be doing she needs an army to escort her for?" - Finn looked at everyone weirded out.

"Well, she'd only put that much effort in security if what she's transporting is worth protecting." - Stork pointed out - "I'd say we have just so much time until they get to their destination and doom us all. Maybe I should start my countdown-to-the-end-of-the-world hourglass." - he pulled the glass with sand inside, still not set to count, from his pocket.

Everyone stared at him unimpressed, then Aerrow approached the hologram and observed it for a moment.

"The main question is: where are they going?" - he asked the obviously most important question.

"I told a small group to keep track of their path and scout ahead. So far there are only 3 places she could be heading to." - Mr. X showed them some papers with photographs of the places.

One of them was a very cold tundra, clearly devoid of life. The other was a lush jungle very rich in all kinds of plants. And the last one was a thunderous mountain.

"What can she find in these places?" - the sky knight inquired.

"The tundra is filled with crystal ores underground. That's the place with the most raw crystals you'll find here." - the man explained the first photo - "This jungle is home to literally all types of plants you can think of. All the plants of the world can be found there." - he told them about the second photo - "And this mountain here is just the place with the highest lightning strike rate in the whole Greatland." - he gestured to the third photo.

Piper gasped in realization at the last part, while Stork just narrowed his eyes.

"She must be heading to the mountain." - he said, to which the girl nodded in agreement.

"Why? The other places have so many resources. What would she get from a mountain constantly hit by lightning?" - Junko didn't understand that logic.

"Power." - the merb explained - "If she wanted crystals or plants, she'd just have sent her Night Crawlers to fetch them. She wouldn't need to move herself for that." - he pointed at the image of Cyclonis standing on the balcony of the strange looking ship - "She must be going there to harness the electricity from the lightning because she doesn't have enough energy on her tower."

"And what is she gonna do with all that energy?" - Finn was almost afraid to ask.

"I think she's trying to power up that machine Domiwick told us about. The one she needed the Mirror Stone for." - the navigator said - "And if she had an expert in anatomy like Dr. Sins build it for her... Then..."

"Wait, so she's gonna use that machine on herself?" - Aerrow caught on her line of thinking.

"Well, she'll use it on _someone_. It could be herself, Dr. Sins, Domiwick, a Night Crawler... We can't know for sure." - the crystal mage clarified.

"We better stop her either way. By the size of this crazy plan of hers, it can only be something really bad." - he concluded, to which Radarr nodded, then he turned to their pilot - "Stork, set a course to that mountain, we need to get there fast."

"Just hold on a minute." - the spy suddenly said, making the boy stop dead in his tracks - "This Cyclonis has a huge army under her command. Are you sure you're prepared to take her on right now?"

Radarr's ears could only fall sadly at that.

"To tell you the truth, we got beaten pretty badly the last time we fought them." - the wallop admitted sheepishly, Mr. Softy mimicking him, not for antics, but because he felt exactly the same way.

"Yeah, they won without breaking a sweat!" - the sharpshooter said dismayed at their current situation.

Aerrow just stared at the ground. It was true. The Night Crawlers had defeated them rather effortlessly, and they even had Kaya's help! Now that they no longer had her with them, they would be overwhelmed even more easily! It felt like Cyclonis was always one step ahead of them. She was very meticulous with her plans alright... And with such a big plan in motion, she'd be extra calculating. She'd do everything in her power to succeed. But they couldn't just let her, they had to do something to stop her. Yet, they couldn't simply barge in and ruin her party, not when she had such an army protecting her. But what could they do? They didn't have nearly as many resources as she did. However, their guest was about to propose a solution.

"If you'd like, we could head to my mobile base. It's not too far from here." - Mr. X suggested as he pointed a thumb at the general direction of his base - "I can't move my forces to aid you, but I'll lend you some gear so you can at least have a better fighting chance."

Everyone's faces lit up and they agreed. Yeah, that sounded like a good plan. They'd need all the help they could get.

* * *

Soon the Condor had approached a hovering metallic tent. It was the mobile base Mr. X had spoken about. It remained suspended in the air thanks to four very large pontoons made of thousands of floaters merged together, one on each inferior corner. The barrack itself was very similar in shape to the one built on Terra Saharr that was used to make the improvised skyride that had saved the sky knights in the day of the annual skyrace, but being made of metal, it had a silvery gray color and some weird circuitry all over it.

When the ship came closer, a ramp was extended from the base to it, so the Storm Hawks could leave the Condor hovering outside while they entered the base. The squadron followed the spy leader across the ramp.

"Welcome to my humble base." - Mr. X gestured to it as they walked, then chuckled - "Where we make campfires, play music and tell stories all day long."

"Really? With marshmallows too?" - Junko asked as he licked his lips, his eyes glimmering. He loved camping! Well, at least the eating part of it, since their last... "Camping" experience in Terra Tropica wasn't exactly pleasant.

"Uh... No. I was just joking that my base looks like some camping tent." - the man told him, to which his shoulders and ears dropped in disappointment - "We do have these fruit gums, though. Everyone here loves them." - he picked up a glass pot filled with colorful sugar covered gums and offered it to him.

The wallop didn't waste time snatching it from him and devouring all of the candy. He smiled while still chewing on them. Yummy! The spy leader didn't mind that, but he was sure his followers would be bothered by the sudden disappearance of their beloved candy. Oh, well, they'd have to make do for a little while until it was time to resupply.

The group followed him to a door with a panel beside it. He removed his glove and placed his hand there, so it'd be scanned. Then he leaned in so it'd scan his eye. Afterwards, a panel with buttons was unlocked, so he typed in a long code. And finally, a microphone popped out of the wall.

"Entrance authorization: Xyler." - he said to it, then a second later he added as everyone behind him got startled - "And some guests."

Several weapons had started to pop out but stopped halfway after he warned about the guests, so they were just frozen while partially armed and in awkward positions. Then they retreated back into their original hidden spots.

"So... Is Xyler your real name?" - Aerrow asked curiously.

"Yes, it is. Haha..." - the man laughed nervously while rubbing the back of his head - "Yeah, I know, 'Mr. X' isn't exactly the most discreet disguise name for it... But that's all I could come up with at the time, and it's too late to change it now."

The redhead just smiled in sympathy. He knew very well what it felt like to have to stick with a nickname you didn't like. Oh, the non-stop teasing... He could still remember it... He couldn't help but roll his eyes at that thought. Suddenly the group heard the sound of two quick air jets that depressurized the doors, then they opened at last, revealing the inside of the base. It was full of all kinds of devices, machines beeped, some others printed data and buttons flashed lights, everything was fully operational. But there was one thing: the place was empty.

"Just how's everything still working without anyone else here?" - Finn asked with a raised eyebrow.

"What are you talking about? All my agents are here." - Mr. X eyed him weirdly.

It was then that the squadron noticed there were really many people in there, by paying close attention to them flashing in and out of invisibility very quickly.

"They're all using cloaking crystals!" - Piper realized.

"That's right. Each spy has at least one with them." - the man said, then he leaned a little closer to her and put a hand near his mouth, as if to prevent what he was going to disclose from being heard by others - "Seriously, that's the main requirement to get into the spy career. If you can't work while cloaked, this isn't the job for you." - he flit his eyes to one of the cloaked people.

It was a very thin and short man. He was fixing himself in front of a mirror... While the cloak was still on! And, weirdly enough, he got to the desired result, since he quickly flashed out for a second just to nod satisfied with himself and then went invisible again. The girl could only blink. Well, that was certainly amazing. The squadron observed the people from there for a brief moment. They were all doing their tasks normally while fully invisible, just quickly flashing in and out when the need for seeing themselves was prompted, even something as trivial as getting some coffee from a coffee machine was done while cloaked.

"Sweet!" - the blonde smiled. All that definitely looked pretty cool.

"They seem kinda busy." - Junko noted after a little while, since the people in there seemingly didn't even acknowledge their presence.

"They are indeed. Monitoring all kinds of movement and transmissions is quite the work." - the spy leader told them - "Let's not bother them, I'll get you geared up myself. This way." - he signaled for them to come along.

He led them through a small corridor to a room with some equipment. There were several crates piled up and many gadgets displayed on the walls.

"Here you go, take all you need." - he gestured to the room.

The squadron walked inside to study the equipment.

"Wow, a grappling hook!" - Aerrow approached the hook and picked it up - "This could come in handy." - he quickly tested how mobile was the hook itself.

"Flash grenade, paralyzing grenade, tear gas, sticky explosives, remote bombs..." - Stork listed the objects he was grabbing one by one and separated them on a table to take them all.

"Don't you think that's too much?" - Piper asked him as she took the tear gas canister in her hand.

"There's no such thing as being overly prepared." - he responded bluntly - "Besides, _nothing_ is too much against those Night Crawlers." - he said that last part a little angrily.

Yep, he definitely held a grudge against them. It had been the third time already they had violated the Condor by stepping inside it. He'd not forgive them for that... Ever. He'd have his sweet revenge come down upon them. The first officer just shook her head at that amused. He really would go overboard when it was about the Condor.

Radarr came across a small device on a shelf while he explored the room. He leaned in to smell it, but he got electrocuted by it when his nose got too close.

"Careful, that taser is kinda sensitive." - Mr. X said, to which the little animal just stared at him.

Well, it would have been nicer to have had that warning before he got too close to it and ended up being zapped. He briefly stroked some burned pelts of his. Gee, his fur was starting to beg to be treated better. At that rate, he'd go hairless! And that certainly wouldn't be good for his reputation as a proud furred animal.

Finn walked past a strange looking device that caught his attention, so he stopped, took a couple steps back and examined it.

"What does this do?" - he asked pointing at it as Junko approached him.

"That's a jammer. It disrupts enemy communications." - the spy leader explained.

"Hey, we could try using that to prevent Cyclonis from starting her machine!" - the wallop suggest, to which the blonde grinned in agreement.

"Great idea, Junko. We'll have destroyed that machine by the time their communications get back." - the sky knight complimented him, then he turned to the others - "Everyone, gather all the equipment we'll need and take it to the Condor. We gotta move now, we'll make up a plan on the way."

Just as he said that, a spy came running into the room, turning off his cloaking crystal in the process.

"Sir! We just got the latest report!" - he said urgently - "The Empress has arrived at her destination!"

The squadron gasped.

"Oh, no. We're too late!" - the navigator clenched her hands in front of her heart.

"The end is near..." - the merb murmured as he leaned backwards like he had just given up on living.

The rest of the team, except the green eyed boy, appeared dismayed and desperate, as if the world was about to end right in front of their eyes. Junko and Mr. Softy had teary eyes, Finn looked depressed, and Radarr was no better. Aerrow blinked. Hey, they couldn't give up yet! They were the Storm Hawks! They had to keep trying until the very end! He needed to stir their hearts.

"Wait. Guys, she just got there. She still needs to set the machine up and let it power up first, remember?" - he said to keep them hopeful, and it seemed like it had worked, at least a little - "We still have time to stop her. We just gotta get there quickly."

"We have some nitro crystal compounds here, but they'll only work on your smaller rides." - Mr. X offered.

"We'll take them." - the redhead promptly replied.

"What? You don't expect me to leave the Condor behind now, do you?" - Stork instantly objected.

"We don't have another choice. We can't let Cyclonis have her way and we don't have much time. We gotta do this." - the boy's say was final, to which the merb's ears dropped disappointed.

"Don't worry, we'll watch over your ship. No one is gonna touch it. And we'll keep it cloaked along with the base." - the spy leader assured them, to which Aerrow nodded.

"C'mon, let's go." - he ordered the team and they all left the room carrying the needed equipment.

Sinjin cast one final glance at the direction of the mountain through the window before leaving. He squinted his eyes and his eyebrows furrowed. He could sense things were about to get really grim very soon.

* * *

Five skyrides flew fast towards the mountain, keeping to high altitude: three skimmers, one heliscooter and the Storkmobile. All of them had been equipped with cloaking crystals, all kinds of grenades, warp crystals, shielding crystals and jammers. Aerrow, Radarr, Sinjin and Piper were flying in front of the formation, Finn, Junko and Mr. Softy right behind them, and Stork watching the back. The merb looked clearly angry for having to abandon the Condor.

"Cheer up, Stork. They said they'd keep the Condor safe." - the wallop flew a little closer to him.

"I swear... If I find as much as a single scratch on her... They'll all face my wrath." - he said, his eye twitching.

"Save some of that rage for Cyclonis, will you? We'll need it." - the blonde told him.

It'd certainly be useful if he used all that energy to help them defeat the evil powerful Empress instead of planning to destroy their allies for a mere scrape on the hull of his beloved ship.

"So what's our plan?" - the leader asked the navigator, drawing everyone's attention.

"We'll fly high altitude, and when we get close enough, we'll enable our cloakers and turn off our engines, so we'll glide silently past her outer defenses." - the girl explained - "After that... We'll just have to try to get as far as we can..."

"What do you mean? That can't be all." - the boy inquired, to which she just sighed then showed them a holographic image of some kind of radar scan.

"According to this, there are thousands of Night Crawlers in there, for just the six of us to fight." - she told them - "I'd be surprised if we get to see her machine in action at all..."

Yeah... Six against countless extra armed enemies. It'd be a piece of cake! The odds surely didn't seem any impossible to beat... Oh, no, they'd breeze through that like it was nothing. All that irony was starting to get to Aerrow pretty bad. He looked back at his team, they were hopeless. He lowered his head, it was hard to think of something uplifting to say to encourage them in that situation. Who was he kidding? They were in an unspeakable disadvantage. If there was just someone who could give them a hand...

"Hey, why all those long faces? That's not the welcoming party I was expecting. And after I came all this way just to meet you..." - a familiar voice shouted, causing them to look at its source: a colorful Mynall bird that quickly approached them shaking his head - "My, my... You're still so old fashioned. None of you followed any of my styling tips, huh? Though you look adorable in armor, dear." - he referred to Piper, causing her to giggle sheepishly.

"Ayrgyn?!" - Aerrow said almost in disbelief, with Radarr chirping questionably from his seat on the cockpit.

"Yours truly, in the flesh." - the bird winked at them - "Or should I say, in the feather?!" - he started laughing at his own clearly not really funny bad pun.

Everyone smiled broadly at him. Their old friend was there! Wow, was he a sight for sore eyes. They had never been happier for being randomly approached by someone they knew. Usually that would be a little awkward, but at that moment it was such a big relief.

"You came to help us?" - the sky knight asked him.

"Of course, kid! Thought you'd get all the glory?" - Ayrgyn replied confidently.

"Things aren't really looking that glorious right now." - Sinjin commented.

"Still with the gloomy input as always, huh, Sinjin?" - the Guardian gave him a look, and none of the squadron were too surprised they knew each other.

"Gotta watch over my depressing dead person reputation." - the spirit shrugged casually.

"But he's right. Before you got here, we weren't even sure if we'd make it." - the redhead drew their attention - "They're too many there."

"I know. Cyclonis is planning really big this time. And she'll only get worse." - the skeeler told them - "But worry not, I can take you to her machine. Follow me to the mountain base."

They all did as they were told. The base wasn't really protected, because it was too far from the top, so the Empress had decided to concentrate all her defenses near the machine. They landed on the base, where Ayrgyn transformed into a human walked by the rocky wall.

"Ayrgyn, was it Kaya who sent you?" - Piper asked.

"Oh, that's right, you met my niece! Precious little thing, isn't she? And cute as a button!" - he clenched his hands near his head at the last part - "No. She told me the news, so I had her reunite the Guardians. I came here on my own accord." - he explained as he proceeded to touch the wall, until he found what he was looking for - "Ah, there it is." - he pressed a rock.

Suddenly, the ground shook a little and a rectangular rock moved out of the way, opening a passage into the mountain.

"You always knew that was here?" - Junko questioned him.

"Yes. Someone in my position kind of has to know about every secret passage there is." - Ayrgyn said as he went inside, everyone following him - "When we reach the top, you children go ahead cloaked. I'll hold those Night Crawlers back, then it'll be up to you to shut that machine down."

"You sure you can handle all of them on your own?" - Aerrow was a little worried.

"Kid, if I couldn't do that I'd not be so famous around the world." - the Guardian assured him.

They all stepped inside an elevator, and Ayrgyn pressed a button to make it go upwards. The lift went up extremely fast, and everyone, except the skeeler and the ghost, was dragged to the floor. When the elevator finally got to its destination, its doors opened, revealing the squadron lying on the ground looking like they had been wasted. They slowly pushed themselves off the floor.

"Uh... I think you better pull yourselves together quick, because they're coming." - Sinjin warned them.

The elevator was in the middle of a corridor with paths on their left, right and ahead of them. Before the enemies appeared, Piper cast a burst of the cloaking crystal to make the squadron invisible. Several Night Crawlers came running down some stairs, swarming them from all directions. Ayrgyn proceeded to fight the ones coming from the left, who were the first ones to arrive. He casually punched the first in the face, then dodged some shots, pressed the neck of the second one, knocking him out instantly, ducked to avoid an attack, ran around the third and fourth ones, pulled their hoods down, blocking their vision, then got out of the way fast, which caused them to be hit by friendly fire.

As enemies started coming from the right, Sinjin tossed his cape and hardened it, in a way that made it work like a bar. He positioned it at neck's height, then quickly materialized it, making the first Night Crawler that arrived to get suddenly strangled by hitting it full force. The ghost materialized his hand and pushed the dark soldier who fell backwards, knocking down a few other allies behind him, which in turn obstructed the corridor and slowed them down. Soon more enemies came from the corridor ahead of them.

"Guys, hold onto me, I'll warp us past them." - Piper whispered to the squadron.

The guys quickly circled her and touched her shoulders, then she focused for a brief second and teleported everyone, except Ayrgyn, to the stairs of the corridor in front of them. From there they ran to the top. While that, the Guardian was completely surrounded by the enemies.

"Surrender now. You've been caught." - one of them told him as they all aimed their guns at him.

"Where would the fun be in that?" - the skeeler dared - "Why don't we play a little game instead?" - then he moved his glowing scepter and released a shockwave from it.

The spell affected all of the soldiers, paralyzing them. Their weapons shut down and their gadgets were disassembled, so they were rendered defenseless. Finally, the soldiers in the corridor to the left were pushed to the sides, opening a way.

"There, now that seems fair." - Ayrgyn said as he approached the Night Crawler that had spoken to him - "Tag, you're it! Come catch me!" - he sprinted through the left corridor, then a little while after, the soldiers were released from their paralysis.

"Sir, what should we do?" - one of the hooded men asked the tagged Night Crawler.

"Ignore him, he's just trying to distract us." - he said.

"Oh, what does this button do?" - the Guardian's voice could be heard in the distance, echoing in the walls, then a loud explosion that made the lights flicker happened - "Oopsie doopsie!"

Well, they couldn't let such a nuisance that could potentially ruin Cyclonis's plans roam freely...

"You! Go after him." - he ordered the soldiers that were standing on the left corridor.

They nodded and followed Ayrgyn's tracks.

"Seriously? That's all you send for me?" - the skeeler's voice shouted in disbelief and disappointment - "You really don't know who you're dealing with here."

The sound of the Night Crawlers screaming in pain and agony was soon heard.

" _Sir, we need back up._ " - one of them said to the leader in his communicator.

He growled angrily.

"Fine... All of you, arrest him at this instant!" - he finally yelled.

"Now you're talking!" - Ayrgyn shouted from the end of the corridor, then bolted off, leading them away from the top level. That way he could buy some time for the Storm Hawks.

The squadron ran invisible by empty corridors, then they took one last stairway that finally led them to the open mountain top. All of them gasped at the sight of all those Night Crawlers flying around like bees protecting their hive.

"We gotta find a way to drag them out of here." - Aerrow said - "We need a distraction."

"I got it covered." - Piper responded, then she made a small striker crystal float very far and fast.

From that incredible distance, she activated the crystal to make it shoot towards the mountain. The Night Crawlers saw the attack and flew straight to the source, but couldn't find anything because the crystal was too small and hard to see.

"They must be cloaked! Keep following the shots, don't let them get close!" - Cyclonis shouted from her position on the machine's platform.

"Wow, someone's in an even worse mood than normal." - Finn commented about her behavior.

Aerrow watched the Night Crawlers flying away from the machine, after the crystal, and noticed they were passing through a force field.

"Stork, see if you can make that shield block them outside." - he told him, to which he nodded.

The merb quickly found a control panel and started messing with it. He made a few inputs and the shield changed color slightly after all of the Night Crawlers were out.

"Done. The field's friend or foe system can't be reversed, so I had to make it block fully." - the tech expert warned, to which Aerrow, Piper and Sinjin fell serious and tense.

"Is that bad?" - Junko asked.

"It means we're stuck here." - the sky knight explained - "We can't get out until this is over."

The wallop, the sharpshooter and their mascot blinked scared, and Radarr whimpered sadly. Oh, boy, no turning back now. So far there were only Cyclonis, Dr. Sins and a few unarmed Night Crawlers operating the machine inside that dome with them. Things were looking up, all they had to do was destroy her device before the soldiers on the outside came back. They still could do it! They just had to play their tactics well. And they would.

Aerrow motioned for everyone to follow him quietly. They made their way towards the machine unnoticed. They stopped right beside it, and the leader nodded at it while looking at the flight engineer. Junko activated his knuckle busters to punch that device with all his might. But when his fist was about to connect with it, it actually hit a barrier, making it flicker and draw attention to them. Cyclonis immediately flit her head in their direction and shot a bolt of energy from her staff at them, which dispelled their invisibility.

"I knew you'd be here. You didn't think I'd be prepared for a sneak attack, did you?" - she said snarkily.

The sky knight wouldn't give up, though, he channeled his new move and charged at the barrier and rammed himself against it. He began opening a hole on it due to the intense energy his move produced. Dr. Sins saw that and pulled out his whip to strike him. The boy reacted fast, though, slicing the whip before it could hit him, rendering that weapon useless.

"Finn, destroy that crystal!" - he glanced at the Mirror Stone.

"You got it!" - the blonde aimed with his crossbow and shot... Only to hit another barrier enveloping the pedestal for the crystal.

The Empress laughed.

"You really are naïve. You'll find plenty of other shields before you ever get to this machine." - she remarked as she proceeded to focus on the decay crystal in front of her - "It's already set up and it's only a matter of time until the first lightning strike fully powers it up." - it was then that the sound of thunder coming from above echoed - "Yes! This is it! It's coming!"

The squadron, except for Stork, cowered a little in anticipation as the lightning came down. But instead of successfully getting to the many rods on the machine, it was blocked by the outer force field. The cowering teammates blinked confused, Cyclonis also looked a little bewildered, until the carrier pilot spoke, drawing their attention.

"I guess not, at least not as long as your force field is set to full block." - he said, causing the Storm Hawks to smile.

That's right! The barrier that was keeping them stuck there would also keep anything from coming in, even the lightning! They could see the swarm of Night Crawlers coming back but failing to go through the barrier.

"Great work, Stork." - Aerrow commended, then he turned to his co-pilot - "Radarr, hit the jammer!"

The mission specialist turned the device on, causing all the communication and broadcast devices inside the barrier to stop working. That prevented the Night Crawlers working on the cargo ship from knowing when the machine would need more raw crystals to power up, so it started to lose energy and shut down gradually.

"Looks like you'll have to go home empty handed this time, Cyclonis." - the sky knight taunted her.

"No..." - she grunted angrily - "No! I won't let it go to waste!" - she yelled.

What she did next left everyone stunned. Sensing what she was about to do, Dr. Sins swiftly made his way to the corridor and left the area. She focused on the force field and made it unstable, which caused it to explode. The resulting shockwave was so strong that it destroyed all the gear of the Night Crawlers flying outside the shield and also made the inner barriers fade. Afterwards, she concentrated on the raw crystal crates far away in the cargo ships and drew them to her, bursting all of them into a giant ball of condensed energy on the way. She redirected that energy to the rods and proceeded to shoot a beam from the decay crystal into the Mirror Stone, which then shot another beam at the Binding Crystal that started absorbing all that energy.

The Storm Hawks all charged at the now unprotected machine, bent on turning it into scraps before Cyclonis could finish whatever she was trying to do. But when they were about to jump on it, a huge lightning bolt hit its rods, and the energy backlash knocked them away from it, and also incapacitated the few Night Crawlers that were operating the machine. The electricity provided by that single strike was all the Binding Crystal needed to be fully charged. It shot a very bright beam of light at the vessel and the glass container beside it, blinding everyone nearby.

After the intense light finally dimmed out, the squadron could see what the machine was for. They gasped and appeared horrified at what they saw: there, standing on the platform where the vessel had been, was none other than Cyclonis's right hand man.

"D-D-Dark Ace?!" - Junko stuttered in fear.

"We're doomed." - Stork said, his voice disappearing.

Aerrow glanced at him a little irritated. He really wished he'd stop saying that. It was slowly starting to work to make him scared!


	36. Episode 61 - Part 3

**Episode 61 - The Comeback**

**Part 3 - Rebirth of the Dark**

The Storm Hawks stood stunned at the sight of one of their worst enemies, who had been deceased after exploding into millions of pieces, just standing there, well and alive. If you could say that. He didn't really look like himself in the flesh, literally speaking. He had the same overall appearance, but he was made of some strange reddish crystal, and they could see a Medulla Crystal pulsating inside his chest. They heard a painful grunt coming from Cyclonis and quickly looked at her.

She was glowing, and was suffering some kind of mutation: she grew taller, her hair became longer, and her body was a little more developed. Was it just impression or had she aged a couple years? What in the world was going on?! But their questions stopped dead in their minds when they noticed the Dark Ace moving, checking himself out.

"Oh, the cold and black death is coming down upon us!" - Stork murmured.

"Quit it, Stork, none of us is gonna die." - Aerrow scolded him, then he noticed the terrified looks on his friends' faces - "C'mon, guys, it's just the Dark Ace."

Finn let out a half laugh in disbelief.

" _'Just the Dark Ace'_? Last I checked, he was dead! But now he's standing right there! And look at him! He's not even human!" - the blonde commented.

"I meant that he's just one enemy we beat before many times." - the sky knight clarified - "We can beat him again just fine."

"I'd not be so confident." - Sinjin walked beside him - "That thing is a lot stronger than what you had described this Dark Ace to be." - he pointed at the talon commander made of crystal.

"What? Are you serious?" - the redhead immediately felt a strange desperate feeling creeping inside his heart as he looked back at the crystal man standing on the platform, especially because Sinjin had referred to him as a thing and not a person.

"Dead serious." - the ghost said as he furrowed his eyebrows, then he blinked - "Uh... No pun intended." - he quickly amended rather awkwardly and, soon after, he turned solemn again - "That vessel is dripping with an evil aura, and there's an enormous amount of energy coming from its core. Whatever that Cyclonis just did, she turned the Dark Ace into something new and improved: a killing machine."

"At last, Dark Ace, you've returned." - Master Cyclonis suddenly said, drawing everyone's attention - "And now you can get your revenge for what happened to you. Destroy the Storm Hawks!" - she gestured to the squadron.

The crystal man stared at them enraged, causing them all to gasp and blink horrified.

"But it was her who got you killed, not us!" - Junko shouted in their defense, but he was completely ignored.

The revived Dark Ace charged at them with a yell, and they barely had time to dodge until he collided with the ground so brutally he opened a small crater on it.

"Okay..." - Finn said panting a lot - "He seems way more dangerous now."

"We gotta get out of here!" - Piper urged them.

"I beg to differ." - Cyclonis reactivated the outer force field still set to full block - "You mustn't go anywhere. The party is just getting started!"

"Getting real bad memories now!" - the blonde said as he beat on the barrier twice.

He was referring to the time he and Aerrow had been pitted against a berserk Junko. They were stuck in a cage without a way to escape to face an incredibly ruthless and strong opponent. Yep, a déjà vu indeed, though now it was even worse, because they at least had a way to snap their friend out of hypnosis back then. The Dark Ace, however, would be absolutely set on destroying them without a second thought!

Before they could even catch their breath, the crystal man charged at them again. Junko quickly reacted, activating his knuckle busters and holding the Dark Ace in place. They were grappling one another in a power match, and it seemed like they were even. The other Storm Hawks cheered, and the wallop grinned confidently, until his smile disappeared when he saw the talon commander smirk. Oh, no... The Dark Ace was just playing with them! He easily overwhelmed the flight engineer like he was a mere ant, and tossed him away.

He was about to go after the others when something hit him on the back of his head: a wrench. He looked behind him to see Radarr jumping up and down to get his attention. And he took the bait, giving more time for the rest of the squadron to pull themselves together.

"Everyone, let's go back to the elevator we came from!" - Aerrow pointed at the entrance of the corridor that led to the lift.

But as soon as he said that, Cyclonis blasted that entrance with her staff, blocking it completely with boulders and rocks. She really wouldn't let them escape, she was doing everything to keep them in that arena of death she had just set up.

"We could try warping away from here." - Piper suggested, but then, the warp crystal that was in her hand burst into dust, thanks to the Empress of course, who laughed at her silliness, causing the girl to glare at her.

"No getting out now, guess we'll have to face him." - the sky knight finally accepted the challenge.

"He just beat Junko's strength like it was nothing!" - Finn made some gestures in despair - "How are we gonna defeat him?!"

"We'll fight together. He can't win against all of us." - the redhead said.

The Dark Ace attacked once again, causing the whole group to split up to dodge it. He looked around, seeing they were going to attempt to fool him, so he decided to focus on one of them. He quickly made up his mind and went for the crystal mage, who was the nearest one to him. Defenseless, she just cowered and waited for his strike... Which never came. She looked at him and saw he was just standing in front of her, staring at her a little confused.

"You..." - he muttered, a memory flashing in his head.

_There was only pain, and a surge of enormous power flowing through his veins. Master Cyclonis was sending him more and more energy from that strange crystal from the Far Side. But then..._

_"Cyclonis! Stop!" - Piper shouted, pleading for his life, yet the Empress didn't listen._

_Instead, she powered him up even more, which eventually caused his body to not be able to hold it anymore, so it exploded and everything went black._

He blinked the memory away. That girl... She had... But before he could think, he was hit very strongly by both Junko's mighty powered up punch and Aerrow's Lightning Charge in a combined attack that sent him flying a few feet away. Then both guys landed in front of the navigator protectively.

"It worked!" - the wallop said happily.

"Told you he couldn't win if we teamed up." - the leader spoke, then he turned to his squadron - "I have a plan. Junko, Stork, see if you can get that exit open." - he nodded towards the obstructed corridor - "Piper and I'll use the Binding to keep the Dark Ace at bay, and Finn and Radarr will distract Cyclonis."

"What?!" - the blonde responded - "You gotta be kidding me! I'll have to fight her?!"

"If it makes you feel any better, Mr. Softy and Sinjin will try to help you too." - Aerrow said, and the little caterpillar jumped near Radarr while the ghost floated beside the sharpshooter, though he couldn't be seen by him.

"And just use these crystals, they'll give you an edge." - Piper handed the mission specialist a small bag full of different crystals, to which he chirped in thanks.

"I don't have a choice, do I?" - the blue eyed boy's shoulders dropped.

"We're all equally doomed, anyway. That shouldn't really matter." - Stork pointed out.

"Okay, everyone. Go!" - the sky knight ordered, and the group split up again.

He went straight to the Dark Ace.

" _Titan's Might!_ " - the first officer shouted, making both her and Aerrow become enveloped in a green aura.

He grappled the crystal man, and they were truly even this time, which made him slightly worried about the outcome of that fight. While that, Junko and Stork tried to remove the rocks blocking the entrance to the corridor. The merb would dig and the wallop would pull the larger boulders away as they were getting unstuck due to the tech expert's digging. Finn, Radarr, Sinjin and Mr. Softy had to face Cyclonis. The wingman shot an arrow at her, but she easily parried it with her staff.

"Maybe it's time I finally got rid of you." - she said as she pointed her weapon at him, who cringed in terror.

But when she was about to shoot, a sticky silk string wrapped itself around the tip of her staff and pulled it down. The mascot was trying to disarm her, but he wasn't strong enough on his own.

"Why, you little..." - she grunted as she attempted to pull her staff back, but she was actually struggling against that tiny creature.

The flight engineer pulled out a very huge boulder, fully unblocking the corridor.

"Hey, guys! We did it! It's open!" - he shouted to warn them.

Seeing that, Cyclonis became enraged.

"Not a chance!" - she said as she quickly yanked her staff, sending the poor caterpillar flying.

"Mr. Softy!" - Junko was afraid for his little buddy's safety.

The Empress aimed her weapon at the two Storm Hawks near the corridor and prepared to charge an enormous blast. They gasped, Stork hiding behind the wallop in an instant. But then, a shot hit her and she was encased in ice! The two squadmates blinked.

"Woohoo!" - the blonde cheered, drawing their attention - "I got her!"

However, his happiness faded when she shattered the ice away and glared at him, completely livid. Oh, he was going to have it for sure! She reacted so fast she managed to get a charged shot out prior to being blasted by Radarr with a slime crystal multiple times, until she was totally buried in the green goo. Finn saw the large bolt of energy coming, it hit the ground in front of him and exploded, knocking him away.

"Finn! You okay?" - the big guy asked to the sharpshooter, who had landed near him and Stork.

But before he could even reply, he saw several Night Crawlers who had remained inside the mountain coming from the corridor, so he screamed in warning, pointing at them. The wallop quickly sealed off the exit with the boulder, so they weren't noticed yet.

"Yeah, I think our one way out is gone." - the merb commented - "I knew this was the end..."

An explosion coming from the pile of slime drew their attention. Cyclonis had unburied herself and was really mad now.

"Enough of this!" - she yelled and rammed her staff on the floor, unleashing a powerful shockwave that shook the ground, causing everyone, except herself, Sinjin, Aerrow and the Dark Ace to lose their footing.

The ghost quickly materialized only his hands to pick Radarr and Mr. Softy up and get them out of the way of the attack.

" _Titan's Might!_ " - the Empress shouted as she powered the crystal man up in the green aura.

The talon commander easily overtook Aerrow in their match of strength. Seeing her friend in danger, Piper reacted.

" _Speed of Light!_ " - she shouted the spell, enveloping herself and the boy in the red glow.

He let go of the man and jumped away from him. But to his surprise, even with that speed, the crystal vessel managed to keep up with him and quickly caught up, appearing right in front of him!

" _Star's Fury!_ " - the master yelled, being consumed in an orange aura.

" _Diamond's Edge!_ " - the navigator countered, generating a blue glow.

Aerrow's hands became crystals and he positioned them in front of himself defensively, so they formed a shield instead of a giant spike. However, the Dark Ace concentrated all the energy of his spell on his hand, which he used to power up a punch. His blow broke through the sky knight's shield and hit him in the face, sending him flying away very far and fast. The boy was knocked out cold. Upon seeing their leader lying lifeless on the ground, the group became desperate.

"Aerrow!" - Piper, Finn and Junko shouted in unison, while Radarr screeched in horror, then all ran to him.

"Now, to finish you off once and for all..." - Cyclonis said as she focused for a moment - " _Feather's Flight!_ " - she shouted.

The Dark Ace was empowered by the orange aura and flew at them, ready to annihilate them with that last strike. Sinjin intervened, though, materializing his hands and holding him in place. At that very moment, Ayrgyn appeared beside the group magically with his scepter.

"Kids! Hold onto me now!" - he urged them.

They all touched his hand, except for Aerrow, who couldn't move at all, so Piper held him by the arm in order for the spell to work on him too. Afterwards, they were all teleported away, leaving Cyclonis and the Dark Ace alone inside the dome. She glared at where they had last been. They had escaped!

The crystal man just stood there, not uttering a sound. His expression was unreadable. Then he noticed Master Cyclonis walking beside him.

"Guess it wasn't this time. Don't worry, though, you'll have plenty of chances to end them yet." - she told him casually, like she wasn't too bothered at all, and headed for the exit.

He mindlessly followed her. His memories were still pretty confusing, and he hadn't fully grasped what was going on or what was happening to him. He could feel a tingling pain coming from the pulsating core. It wasn't too strong to be unbearable, but it was constant, so it was a little annoying. They reached the blocked corridor, and Cyclonis easily turned the giant boulder into dust so they could pass. They were immediately met by Dr. Sins, who had been stuck in the corridor after it was obstructed. He glanced at the Dark Ace, eyeing him over and studying him.

"I see the experiment worked in the end." - the scientist said seemingly not that impressed.

"To perfection." - the Empress added, then she turned to the talon commander smirking - "Dark Ace, I believe you'll need to be filled in on the current developments." - but her smile faded when she saw he wasn't responding - "Are you listening?" - she asked rather impatiently.

"What happened to me?" - he questioned her as he looked at himself.

"I'd expect a thank you for bringing you back..." - she said bluntly, and upon seeing no reaction from him, she continued - "I bound your soul to a vessel, since your body was destroyed. It'll take a while until you're fully adapted, but once you are, you'll start working again." - she explained - "Now let's go back to the tower."

The three went inside the corridor and left.

* * *

Inside a somewhat dark and secluded cave, lit only by some raw crystals on its walls and ground, a strange light appeared, and soon after the Storm Hawks, Ayrgyn, Mr. Softy and Sinjin were teleported there. They all let out relieved sighs.

"That was close, kids. You really have a knack for finding trouble, you know?" - the skeeler told them.

"Finding trouble? We almost died there, for real!" - Junko said while gesturing to himself.

"See? I was right, we were doomed after all." - Stork crossed his arms - "Maybe now you'll never take my predictions for granted again."

"I wish I could've been more useful." - Piper confessed, drawing everyone's attention and changing the subject a little - "Cyclonis did so much there, she was so powerful. She's still far ahead of me as a crystal mage."

"Crystal _mage_? More like a crystal _witch_." - Finn commented - "She literally just brought the Dark Ace back from the dead and turned him into a monster! She's totally evil! I can't even imagine what she's gonna do next."

Indeed, if that wasn't part of her master plan yet, they couldn't fathom what kind of disaster she was going to cause if she actually managed to set her main scheme in motion.

"And that's why..." - a weak voice began, grunting in pain - "We can't let her go any further. We gotta stop her now."

It was Aerrow, he had recovered consciousness and was trying to push himself off the ground. He eventually stood up, only for his legs to fail him, making him fall on his knees and hands. His arms were shaking, barely able to sustain the weight from his upper body.

"Aerrow! Are you okay? Don't strain yourself, you just received a very harsh blow on your head." - the girl said as she rushed to him, but when she got closer, she saw it and gasped - "Y-Your eye..."

His left eye had suffered a deep cut and he couldn't open it. It was black all around and had a considerable amount of somewhat dry blood on the left side of his face, but it was hard to see because his extra messy hair was falling over it. He was panting heavily, clearly exhausted, but he insisted on trying to push himself up again.

"Boy, you're being stubborn now. You're in no condition to fight." - Ayrgyn scolded him - "Actually, you never had a chance ever since the Dark Ace showed up. You should've left right away the moment he came back. But you just had to be reckless, huh? You earned yourself that." - he nodded at him, referring to that cut on his eye.

At that, Aerrow stopped attempting to get up. He just froze. The Guardian was right, it was all his fault. He got himself injured badly, and also put his friends in great danger. What kind of stupid leader was he? He could be reckless with himself, but not them... He clenched his hands into fists. He was very frustrated with himself. And he was disappointed too.

"It's okay, I can get you healed right now." - the navigator said as she pulled out a nil crystal and moved it near his face.

But before she could touch it, he grabbed her wrist and held it still, so her hand couldn't come any closer.

"Leave it." - he said without looking at her - "I want it to remind me of my mistake."

He remembered he was getting a little too cocky a while ago, until he had received news that he might die in the final battle against Cyclonia. But even after that breaking his ego, after seeing all their friends and fellow sky knights stuck in the crystal prison, after almost losing Piper, almost losing the war, then taking a beating from these stronger Night Crawlers... He was still trying to be confident, though in a humbler way. But now... He felt like he deserved that punishment, to teach him to be more realistic.

"L-let me at least fix your vision. I'll leave the scar, just let me heal your eye." - she persisted - "If you go blind in one eye, it could take years for you to get used to it and be able to do anything right again."

After a brief moment, he let go of her wrist. Just because he wanted to suffer that penalty it didn't mean he had to become a liability. A scar should be enough, no need to also lose his depth perception and sense of balance so he'd be a burden for everyone while trying to adapt. The first officer did her thing, letting out a soft beam of light from the crystal on the left side of his face. The blood faded, the black eye was gone, and the cut was reduced to a thinner line, the scar. Aerrow could now open his eye. He placed a hand over his right eye to check if he could see with his left one. He could, so he nodded to let her know she didn't need to heal him any further, but he still remained serious, like any enthusiasm he ever felt had left him.

The others could only frown in sympathy, especially Sinjin, who understood him better than anyone. He had been there before. He had experienced failure like that. He knew how much it could wound one's pride, but not only that, it could also shatter their spirit, and that's where the damage was more severe. Many people never recovered from that kind of trauma... And if Aerrow didn't manage to overcome that, he'd not be able to fulfill what he had to. Sinjin felt like he should try to help him out of that situation.

"Ayrgyn, what do you think we should do now?" - the ghost asked him, as if he had an expectation for a certain answer.

And he got it right. The next thing the skeeler said was exactly what he was hoping for.

"Well, kids, I think you'll need to train again. But not that light training I gave you last time, that was child's play, literally." - he told them and giggled at his own joke for a moment, referring to the time he had them train in Terra Neon's amusement park, then walked towards the entrance of the cave - "This time you'll train hard in the Astral Training Grounds." - he gestured outside.

They followed his arm with their eyes and saw the place, which left them all, except Sinjin, agape. It was a gigantic kind of dome, but you couldn't see the end of it. There was a lot of fog inside, and around it was some weird electromagnetic twister that reached endlessly in the sky. Finally, the entrance to the dome was a sealed off gateway, and before it was a very large portal with some intricate carvings. To their bigger surprise, their skyrides and the Condor were already there, right in front of the portal.

"I took the liberty of teleporting your rides and your ship here." - Ayrgyn said as he spun his scepter in his hand, then turned to them - "Now, it's time for your serious training to begin!"

The squadron smiled broadly and excitedly, but Aerrow, who remained solemn, though still impressed nonetheless. Yes, they would do their best. They would surpass their limits. They would reach the level no one else had ever achieved before. The time they finally got ahead of Cyclonis had come.

 


	37. Episode 61 - Part 4

**Episode 61 - The Comeback**

**Part 4 - Astral Training Grounds**

The Storm Hawks followed Ayrgyn outside of the cave, heading for the portal. Stork immediately dashed over to the Condor to check on it. He held a magnifying glass as he observed its entire hull very thoroughly. It was then that he scratched his finger against what seemed to be a tiny scrape on the metal.

"Hm... What do we have here..." - he mused, already putting up a scheme on his mind to obliterate whoever could have done that.

"Don't look at me, it was already there when I teleported the ship here." - Ayrgyn made that clear from the start. He'd definitely not want to take the blame for that one!

"Then I'll have to figure out who did this the hard way..." - the merb's eye twitched.

"Stork, let that go. For all we know it could've been caused by one of our battles against the Night Crawlers..." - Piper scolded him impatiently. Ugh, he could be a handful sometimes...

"Yeah. And it's not like we'll pick a fight with the people that tried to help us over that, right?" - Finn said a little nervously.

"Why are you suddenly saying that? Did you do something?" - the girl put her hands on her hips, finding that behavior of his suspicious.

"Who? Me? No! Of course not!" - he quickly denied anything, waving his hands in front of himself dismissively.

"You know I can find out if you're lying. Just say it already." - she crossed her arms, causing him to sigh in defeat.

"I... Accidentally spilled some soda on one of the machines in Mr. X's base." - he confessed poking his index fingers against each other.

The memory was played as a quick flashback.

_Finn had pressed a button on a vending machine and it dropped a soda can. Once he opened it, though, it shot out the soda like a geyser due to the pressure inside the can, and the liquid fell on the computer nearby. He tossed the can on the trash as fast as he could and walked away while whistling, minding his own business, when one of the agents that worked there flashed out of invisibility and blinked horrified at the destroyed machine._

Piper was facepalming at that. Great going, Finn... Great going...

"I hope they have nil crystals there... If not, we'll have to go back to fix it once we're done here." - she told him while shaking her head at him. They could easily have just dealt with that if he had admitted what he did right away. It was way better than having to go all the way there all over again. Oh, well, figures... He only ever learned the hard way, as always.

Once the group got near the entrance, the squadron stopped right before the portal. They looked at it for a moment, studying it carefully.

"Hey, wait a minute! This is that giant pyramid I saw in the picture!" - Finn suddenly said in realization.

"T-This can't be... I was so sure it was a strato elf!" - Stork was dismayed that the photograph had misled him that much to make him confuse a living being with a huge place like that.

"What picture are you talking about?" - Ayrgyn questioned them.

"Just some bad pictures Mr. Lousy Photographer here took from the exosphere when he flew over the Far Side." - Piper said pointing a thumb at Aerrow.

The sky knight just looked to the side awkwardly. Great... He really didn't want to be reminded of those super lousy photos he had taken back then. He had been teased and scolded about them enough times that week. He was happy he got to bring all of them to the Far Side, though, so they could see all he had seen with their own eyes and from up close. At least that was kind of a way to make it up to them. But he knew they'd have loved to see some pictures taken from the sky like that... Maybe another time...

"Well, I don't know of any strato elves... But I guess I can see why this place could've looked like a pyramid." - the Guardian commented - "Since the dome is transparent, you can only see the static from the inside, maybe it appeared to be shaped like a pyramid from all the way up there."

"The picture was all blurry too. Maybe that confused us." - Junko shrugged.

The skeeler smiled, then looked at Aerrow while shaking his head and tsking.

"Kid, you should take a photography course someday. Oh, well, guess we can't have too many talents, huh?" - he said, which caused the boy to roll his eyes - "Alright, come in, you all. Don't be shy." - he prompted them to not hesitate any longer.

The moment they walked past the carved entrance, they saw Sinjin was materialized instantly, which startled them, save for Aerrow, who could always communicate with him, and Piper and Radarr, who were always aware of his presence in a way, so the three weren't surprised by that.

"We can see you now!" - Junko commented as he approached him a little.

"You can hear me too." - the ghost added as he looked around - "That's because this is one of those places where spirits can manifest themselves."

"And that's a good thing, because Sinjin here is the one who's gonna oversee your training." - Ayrgyn told them as he patted the deceased monk on the shoulder.

"So you're not staying?" - Aerrow asked him.

"I'll have to take my leave soon, I've got lots of Guardian duties to attend to." - he responded with his hands on his hips - "But I'll stay for a little while, I have to make you some new armor. You'll need it, since by the time you're finished here, yours won't fit you anymore."

"Wait, what's that supposed to mean?" - the sharpshooter questioned him a little scared as he put his hands over himself protectively.

"You've been told already that time in the Far Side flows faster than in the Atmos, right?" - the skeeler began, to which the squadron nodded - "There's a reason for that, and it's this place. You'll age quicker in there."

"Yes, the Astral Training Grounds are a time and space anomaly that affects the entire Greatland. It's actually thanks to this powerful dome that time is flowing this slow out here." - Sinjin explained as he gestured to the force field - "Inside it, though, time flows way faster and gravity and temperatures are intensified. The effect gets more severe the closer we go to the central vortex, which's the main origin of this anomaly."

"But that doesn't make sense. Time should flow slower the higher the gravity." - Piper pointed out.

"You're right. But this place defies everything you know." - he said - "Time and gravity work the other way around and not even linked to one another, and temperatures go from very hot during the day to very cold during the night instantly without any pressure changes at all."

"How did this anomaly happen?" - she put a hand on her chin, curious about such an intriguing phenomenon.

"This was the place where the Helix Crystal was activated, way back then. The energy it unleashed was so huge it distorted reality, creating this anomaly that had to be quickly contained inside this dome." - the spirit told her the story - "Since then, people tried to find use for it, seeing that we couldn't get rid of it. So it became training grounds for very intensive workout."

"And what's gonna happen when we walk inside the dome?" - Stork asked suspiciously, pointing at the place.

"You're about to find out." - the ghost said as they went past the gateway that had opened itself once they got close enough.

All of the squadron and Mr. Softy suddenly fell to their knees, unable to push themselves up.

"Uh... I feel heavier..." - Junko tried to stand up, but failed.

"The ground... It's pulling me towards it! It wants to consume me!" - the merb shouted panicked.

"Of course the ground is pulling you... Gravity just got stronger." - the navigator stated the obvious a little irritated with his constant paranoia, and Radarr rolled his eyes at him. Talk about overreacting...

"Isn't there an easier place around here to start out?" - Finn asked, his arms shaking from the struggle of keeping his torso off the floor.

"This actually is the easiest area of the training grounds. Gravity is only 5 times stronger than the Greatland's, the temperatures are still pretty much normal, and time only flows thrice faster." - Sinjin said while shrugging - "Near the core you'll find things a thousand times worse."

All of them grimaced at that, excluding Aerrow, who looked as determined as ever.

"Alright, then we better get started." - the leader slowly but surely pushed himself up until he could stand, and he kept himself straight up, not faltering one bit.

Inspired by that, the other squadron members proceeded to stand up as well, each one having varying degrees of difficulty and taking their own time at it, but all making it nonetheless.

"That's the spirit!" - Ayrgyn commended them, then he suddenly turned serious - "But I must warn you: besides all the environment harshness, this place can also affect you personally. So be strong."

"You're not saying there are... Mindworms here... Are you?" - the carrier pilot asked, his voice disappearing as his pupils shrank in fear.

"Am I?" - the Guardian said, to which the green humanoid was about to freak out, but then he slapped him in the shoulder - "Just kidding! There's nothing to be afraid of here. That just comes with the time flow anomaly."

"You see, since time doesn't work naturally here, you might get glimpses of the past and even of the future shown to you through visions or hallucinations. And they could be unpleasant things." - Sinjin explained - "That's why being in this place isn't only training for the body, but also for the mind and the spirit. It's really tough and unforgiving, and you might sacrifice a few things, but the reward is priceless."

"Okay then, we're ready to go straight to the core! Let's do this." - Aerrow was about to march onwards when Ayrgyn stopped him.

"Hehe, cool your jets, kid. You might want to strain yourself to death, but what about your friends? Can they keep up?" - the skeeler gestured to the others.

The boy stared at them and, after a short while, he frowned. Indeed, he might have wanted to torture himself, but he shouldn't drag his friends along for that ride. It was really unfair with them. They had nothing to do with his failure or his desire for self punishment.

"Sorry... We don't have to do this like that." - he said calmly.

"But we know how much you want to train the hardest. We shouldn't be holding you back either." - Piper told him.

He lowered his head at that. He couldn't do that to them. They didn't deserve that... But, then, the spirit's voice drew his attention, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Then how about this: I'll train you all separately." - the deceased monk suggested.

"Isn't that too much for you?" - the flight engineer asked - "I mean, it's not like you can be in six places at once."

And just like that, Sinjin actually appeared beside each one of the Storm Hawks, truly occupying six different spaces at the same time, which made the wallop's jaw drop.

"Space time anomaly, remember?" - the ghost remarked with a smirk.

"Cool! Can we do that too?!" - the sharpshooter asked excitedly, then he did some weird thrusts forward with his torso, as if trying to split himself or something.

"No? Time might not be influenced by gravity in here, but space still is, hence why we're even more stuck to the ground and not floating around." - Stork commented, gesturing to himself and the floor - "So, no, you can't be in more than one place at once because gravity keeps you where and when you are."

"Then why can he do it?" - Finn pointed at Sinjin, not believing the merb.

"Because I'm a ghost. Gravity doesn't affect me." - the spirit clarified - "Well, guys, what do you think? You up for it?"

The team members just went quiet and exchanged glances, as if they were silently discussing it. It really seemed like a good idea... That way each one of them could have their own customized training program that suited their needs the best! Once they reached that conclusion, they all nodded, and Aerrow finally turned to him.

"I guess it could work." - he smiled a little - "If you really think you can teach the six of us at the same time, that is."

"Of course I can!" - Sinjin assured them - "Let's go now! Follow me." - all of the six images of him spoke simultaneously as they proceeded to walk away in different directions, causing the others to become a little confused.

"Hm... Which one of you should we follow?" - Junko asked, which made all the Sinjins turn around to think for a brief moment.

For that to work, they'd need to be really organized. He couldn't mix their trainings up, and they couldn't distract or confuse one another either. There was only one solution.

"You know what, maybe we should split up very far from each other, to avoid messing with our training." - the six images said in unison as they approached once again each one of the squadron - "So you better bid your farewells for now, because it'll be like you haven't seen one another in years after we're done." - the one standing near Aerrow told them.

That sudden announcement made them all blink and remain silent and still for a moment, as if they were hesitating a little to be able to think that through one last time. Well... They'd not be separated forever, and they were being assisted by Sinjin and Ayrgyn, who had only their best interests in mind. They also knew they had to do something to catch up with Cyclonis fast. It goes without saying that they'd need to make some sacrifices... It was decided: they would go through with that until the end. The wallop picked the little caterpillar up from his shoulder and placed him on the ground near Ayrgyn, who was already waiting by the doorway of the gate.

"Mr. Softy, you stay here with Ayrgyn and be good, okay?" - he said to their mascot, while the small creature looked at him with teary eyes, his antennae bent down sadly - "We'll be back soon, it'll only be a few hours for you."

Then he stood up again to look at the rest of the group. They all gathered in a circle in order to say goodbye.

"Let's do our best, everyone. And remember we'll always be a family, no matter how long we stay apart." - the leader spoke, making the others smile warmly.

Yes, they were an unconditionally loyal team, they were really good friends, true friends, but above all else, they were a family that would never forget one another. Aerrow, Piper, Finn, Junko and Radarr shared a tender group hug, and forcefully pulled Stork in the middle, regardless of any kind of protest he could ever exclaim. Then all of them pulled apart, so only their hands remained still connected at the center of the circle.

"See you soon. I'll really miss you guys." - Piper told them as everyone finally let go of each other while reciprocating that.

The girl, the wallop and the mission specialist had somewhat teary eyes, while the other three held out sad smiles. Indeed, they'd be separated for a few years, that was a pretty long time to go off on a lone, personal, spiritual and physical individual journey. At least they'd still have Sinjin as company, but they'd really miss being together as a group regardless.

"Good luck, kids! I'll be here for now if you need me. When you're done I'll have a little surprise for you!" - Ayrgyn waved at them supportively.

At last, each one of them went their separate ways, following one of Sinjin's images each to a completely different location, so they all disappeared in the fog, to return only years later.

* * *

In the Night Crawler tower, Cyclonis, the Dark Ace and Dr. Sins arrived, along with the huge army of Night Crawlers. Domiwick had just gotten back from his expedition as well, so he witnessed their arrival. The sight of the revived talon commander was certainly terrifying. The Empress and the crystal man walked past him and paid him no mind, while the scientist went straight to his laboratory, which was in a completely different direction.

The explorer could feel a very heavy and dark energy coming from the crystal vessel. So she had done it... She really brought him back. But... There was something really wrong with how he came back. His mere presence was very unsettling, and it felt like he wasn't really... There. That it was something else inside that thing. Something really bad. Yeah... Dark and evil did go around hand in hand... Sufficed to say, that could only mean bad news. He could feel something bad was going to happen. Whether it was Cyclonis's plan all along, he'd probably never know.

The Empress and the talon commander entered a room, where there was a table with many scrolls. She walked towards it and brushed her hand against the papers, then she turned around to face her right hand man.

"Dark Ace..." - she began as she picked up one of the scrolls, and he showed he was paying full attention to what she was about to disclose - "This is what we're here for." - she unrolled the scroll for him to see.

He stared at it blankly, then an unreadable expression was formed in his face. It almost looked like a mix of disbelief, mild surprise and contemplation. His stance relaxed slightly. Yeah, he was in for a long conversation that'd help him learn of all the plans currently in motion, but he just couldn't fathom what she'd do with what she had shown him in the scroll. She eyed him. She was about to fill him in.

* * *

Aerrow and Sinjin walked by the large empty and foggy area. The boy was clearly having a really hard time moving. It was then that they stopped by a certain barrier. Aerrow observed it for a moment.

"What's this?" - he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"This is the last barrier separating us from the core of the anomaly." - Sinjin explained - "You wanted to train in the harshest place? There it is. But see if you can withstand it first." - the ghost said as he touched the barrier, which caused a door to form itself on the field and open up in order to let them pass.

The redhead hesitated. The core field was a pretty large area, but definitely not as vast as the rest of the dome. And it was constantly flooded in static, because the core itself was a ball of energy that'd send out sparks of electricity in the air. It didn't really look deadly, but it certainly gave off the feeling that it was a merciless place. He took a deep breath and one step into the inner dome. His body was pulled towards the ground with such force one could hear the sound of the bones on his back snapping. He went down face first, lying completely on his belly. He couldn't move at all and it was hard to even get his chest to inhale and exhale properly. He gasped for air, sweat rolling down his face since the current weather was really hot.

"I told you this was too much on the first go." - the deceased monk crossed his arms and looked away - "No one ever went straight to the core from the start. It's a way too drastic change from outside and..." - he trailed off when he looked back at him, his eyes widening.

The spirit saw Aerrow doing the absolutely impossible: he started to move. He slowly dragged his arms by the floor, positioning them so he could begin pushing himself up. He breathed really heavily, his eyes squinting to the point they were almost closed shut. He'd mentally tell himself he'd do it. He'd push himself over his limits in one go. One... Two...

"Hey, don't do that! You could end up crippled for this kind of strain on your body." - the blue haired dead young man warned him, but he didn't listen.

Three... He painfully pushed himself up, limbs shaking so wildly it looked like they'd break at any moment. But he stood up firmly and even dared to walk a couple steps towards Sinjin, who just shook his head.

"You really are stubborn, aren't you?" - the ghost commented unimpressed.

"C'mon... Let's... Start training." - the sky knight struggled to get into a fighting stance.

"Uh... No. Not that kinda training anyways." - the deceased monk said - "You can't spar with me in those conditions. You gotta adapt to this place first."

"We don't have time to waste on this! Let's just get this going already!" - the boy prepared to strike.

Sinjin closed his eyes and sighed.

"You asked for it..." - he murmured.

Before Aerrow could even swing a fist, he quickly hit him in the chest with his open palm. The blow was so swift and strong it sent the Storm Hawk flying fast against the wall of the inner barrier. He hit his back and fell to the floor. He coughed as he shakily curled a little and held onto his aching chest.

"You felt that, huh? It was similar to the blow you took before, but a little weaker, right? Well, this wasn't anywhere near my full strength." - the spirit told him while approaching, which made Aerrow's eyes snap wide open in realization - "Don't worry, though, I'll pass all that onto you. You'll probably become even stronger than me. But you need to be more patient. Tell you what, you'll have a week to adapt, a month of intensive exercise, then the rest of the time I'll give you combat training. Also, I'll teach you a secret technique no one else knows that'll really give you an edge. How does that sound?"

Aerrow raised an eyebrow at the last part. No one else knew?

"But I thought... Kaya knew all of your moves." - the redhead said as he coughed a little.

"Not _all_ of them. This one I invented myself shortly before I died, so she never got to know about it. In fact I kind of... Died while mastering it." - Sinjin shrugged as Aerrow grimaced slightly, then he crouched near him - "Sorry I went too rough on you. But you had to know what you were up against. No hard feelings?" - he extended his hand for him.

The green eyed leader just looked at it for a brief instant, until he grabbed it... Then got a good hold of his arm and quickly moved so that Sinjin actually got tossed over him and into the ground, falling flat on his back.

"Yeah, no hard feelings... Now that we're even." - the boy smirked triumphantly as he let go of the ghost.

"You're lucky I didn't try to counter, or things would've been pretty ugly for you." - he said as he sat up and rubbed the back of his head that had hit the floor.

"Just admit I got you this time." - Aerrow's grin grew wider, then he winced in pain a little, since he was still extremely sore from that attack he took.

"Okay, okay, you're kinda unpredictable. But don't think that's enough to defeat the Dark Ace now." - he adjusted his cape - "You still have a long way to go until you can face him on your own again."

"Yeah... I know..." - the boy turned serious as he stared at the floating ball of energy at the center of the core.

He clenched his fist. He couldn't back down. He had to keep going.

* * *

Away from the core, in another part of the immense dome, Finn and Sinjin had arrived to the area they'd train at. The blonde looked around and noticed the place was completely empty.

"Uh... How exactly do we train here? It's not gonna be just workout and punching the air, right?" - Finn asked a little dismayed, already predicting the worst.

But the reply he got was far from what he expected.

"No. You can think of any props you might need to train, and the dome will create them here if you concentrate on that. It's a good way to learn how to keep a background focus while still being aware of everything else too." - Sinjin told him.

Well, he just had to give it a try! He thought for a short moment, then his crossbow was suddenly materialized in his hands.

"Wow, it works!" - he smiled as he checked his weapon out.

"Yeah. But you if your concentration slips just once, it'll disappear and you'll have to think it up again. So don't get too distracted." - the ghost warned.

"Sure, sure." - the sharpshooter said barely paying any mind to that, since he was totally consumed in his excitement - "Alright, let's see... We need some targets here!"

And just as he said that, several floating and flying round targets appeared. Some floated almost still, others flew around rather quickly. The blue eyed boy moved his arm to shoot. But nothing came out of his weapon. He blinked confused.

"You need to think of the ammo too." - the deceased monk clarified.

"Oh, right... Of course." - the kid stammered.

After focusing for a second and being replenished with arrows, he proceeded to shoot. He did some really weird poses while shooting, he even spun around and shot with his arm on his back once. He managed to hit all of the targets. In his enthusiasm, he ended up imagining a scoreboard panel, and it appeared. It calculated his accuracy: 100% - all targets were hit exactly in the center.

"Oh, yeah! Perfect bullseye!" - Finn celebrated.

"Uh... Good job. Nice warm up." - the blue haired dead young man said.

"Warm up? I was actually practicing here." - the boy frowned.

"But what's the point of practicing something you're already good at? I mean, it's not like you can't get even better, but I think you should make the qualities you're lacking in catch up with your shooting skills first." - he asserted calmly - "I'd suggest starting with some intensive workout. It can even help with your gunning and running."

"Hm... Point taken, I guess." - the blonde crouched to do some push ups as his crossbow, its ammo, the scoreboard and the targets disappeared.

"You might wanna dress with this." - Sinjin offered him a dark blue jumpsuit that covered even the feet.

"Why?" - the sharpshooter questioned him while he stopped exercising.

"You'll eventually become too tall for your current armor. Plus, this jumpsuit will help with the intense heat and cold from here." - the ghost disclosed as he nodded at the boy's clothes - "It's been made to grow along with your body and to isolate the temperature a little better. Everyone else will get one like this."

"Oh, cool. Thanks." - Finn took the one-piece suit and was about to proceed to remove his own clothes when he turned to Sinjin again - "Hey... Do you mind...?"

The spirit gave him a look, then, suddenly, a large wooden folding screen appeared out of nowhere between the two of them, completely concealing the kid from him.

"Yeah... That works too." - the wingman said, then he finally started getting changed.

* * *

Sinjin and Junko were standing on their chosen training area, the wallop was wearing a green jumpsuit provided to him by the ghost. The spirit was trying to decide a training course for him.

"You're already pretty strong, so you won't need that much workout to increase your strength." - he began - "We could train in shifts... A few workout sessions and a few combat sessions. I think what you need the most right now is a little more fighting malice, to help you attack and defend yourself more effectively."

"I guess you're right. I could use some more techniques. I don't really know much sky fu, so it'd be good to learn it." - the flight engineer agreed.

"Then let's start. I'll teach you some moves. I'll do them first, and you'll try to repeat them." - the deceased monk told him.

And so they began. A straight punch with the right arm, then with the left, uppercuts, jabs, then some low kicks, high kicks, roundhouse kicks. Junko was having trouble with the movements that added momentum, he was clumsy at times and couldn't keep up with Sinjin's pace due to having poor control over his own body. That caused him to eventually spin around after a punch and fall on the ground.

"Yeah... This is gonna take a while..." - the ghost said as he put his hands on his hips.

The wallop smiled sheepishly from his position lying on the floor.

* * *

Piper, wearing an orange jumpsuit, stood beside Sinjin contemplating the place for a moment. He was very quiet for a while, until he finally broke the silence.

"I'm not sure I can help you much." - he said as he put a hand on his chin in thought - "I don't know a lot about crystals or how to read auras, and that's what your main training is about."

"Yeah. Good thing I can imagine my crates of crystals and they appear here, so I can train with them." - she said as some boxes filled with crystals were materialized in front of them - "But I can't overdo it. And I think I'm starting to figure out the whole aura whisperer thing. Still, I'd like to improve my fighting techniques too."

"Well, if you'd like to spar... But you might be a bit disappointed that I'll have to take it easy for a good while." - he told her apologetically - "You're to leave this place absolutely unscratched, or someone's gonna kill me a second time."

She giggled.

"Hey, it's not like you can die again." - she pointed out.

"You can't really know for certain." - he shrugged - "Though I guess I'd prefer not to have to die another time and go even farther away..." - he said as he looked at himself.

That one line certainly made her reflect on that. Was it even possible to... Go to yet another realm beyond his? It made her wonder if this could mean the loved ones she lost might be more distant than she imagined. Yeah... That was a rather unpleasant line of thought.

"I guess I can agree with that..." - she responded quietly while looking away pensive.

The silence was starting to get a little uncomfortable due to the subject they had just talked about, so he decided to speak again.

"So, up for a blocking session?" - he asked casually.

"Sure. I'll start." - she positioned herself in a fighting stance to attack.

"Give me your best game, then." - he positioned himself to block.

She proceeded to throw punches and kicks fast and graciously, but Sinjin easily deflected and blocked them just with one hand. He was way more experienced after all. They kept at that for a little while, Piper not being able to land a single hit yet.

"You definitely had formal training, your form is really good. But you gotta be unpredictable too, think outside the box a little more." - he advised her.

Not a second later, she managed to trick him into protecting the wrong spot, finally hitting him near the ribs on his left. He quickly stepped back and held onto his side.

"Ouch... You pack quite a punch. And they weren't kidding when they said you learn fast." - he commented as he rubbed his aching chest.

She smiled proud of herself at his compliment about her abilities. Indeed, she was a pretty fast learner, and she could be very creative in combat sometimes, like when she turned a switchblade into a wooden rocking horse. No need to mention that was really funny back then.

"I try." - she replied with a shrug.

The ghost soon recovered his composure.

"Well, let's see you do that again." - he positioned himself a second time.

The navigator prepared herself once more for another blocking session.

* * *

Stork was wearing a brown jumpsuit, and he certainly didn't look too thrilled about wearing clothes that were a figment of his imagination and that came to be by unknown means he didn't fully understand. If anything, that place breaking the laws of physics was really boggling his mind in the worst way possible.

"I told you, your clothes won't disappear. I'll take care of thinking them up until the training is over." - Sinjin tried to assure him.

"I still don't know what they're made of and they can't protect me from all of the ailments I might contract in this place." - the merb complained as he pulled out a rolled up piece of paper from his pocket.

"Fine, then they're now made of the same material as your usual uniform, and they'll be anti..." - the ghost said as he took the paper from his hand, but he trailed off when the list rolled down until it hit the floor - "...Everything in this list. Happy now?"

"I'm never 100% happy." - the carrier pilot made it clear - "But that's better."

"Well, that's something..." - the spirit rolled his eyes - "Now, shall we finally talk about your training? Please?"

"I'd rather not. I need to focus on developing a better security system for the Condor." - he sat down as several books and some strange tools appeared around him.

"Why would you do that here of all places? These are training grounds for self improvement." - the deceased monk questioned him.

"This is also a place where I can imagine all the tools necessary to build my system." - the tech expert said while he picked up a book, then he gestured to a small pile of metal beside him - "Fortunately I brought real materials with me, so they won't disappear along with the tools when I'm done."

"Okay, fair point... But why not get some training for your lacking abilities? You'll need it." - the blue haired dead man asked.

"The Condor is always my main priority." - Stork replied without removing his eyes from his book.

"Getting rid of your weaknesses is important too, you k..." - he was about to point out.

"Condor first, training later." - the merb interrupted him bluntly.

Sinjin just sighed as he ran his hand against his face in disappointment. Now he'd be stuck with that pilot for years in an empty and harsh place unable to do anything productive. Amazing...

* * *

The ghost stood in front of Radarr, who wore a cyan jumpsuit, quietly. Both were simply staring at each other a little confused, the spirit was lost in thought, and the little animal observed him curiously.

"You know... I'm at a loss here. I have no idea of what to teach you since I don't know what are supposed to be your strengths and weakness as a 'missions specialist'. Just what exactly is that role about?" - Sinjin asked him.

The co-pilot put a hand on his chin to think. He had to admit his position was kinda made up, after all, he basically just improvised with everything, he didn't have a defined job on the team, like being a navigator or the heavy ballistics expert. That made his ears fall a little, since it meant he'd have a pretty hard time being recognized as a true team member with a set role. Though he knew all of the Storm Hawks thought of him as a valuable ally, maybe that was all that should matter, not what anyone else outside the squadron thought.

After reaching that conclusion, he tried to think of a way to explain what he did through charades. He made some strange gestures, as if to mean he was picking something up and throwing, then another that was supposed to represent him pulling a lever on Aerrow's skimmer to deploy/retract its wings. The deceased monk just stared at him with a blank expression.

"Uh... You can just speak. I'll imagine a translator earpiece so I can understand you." - he told him as a tiny device appeared on his left ear.

The animal blinked, then he stopped making those gestures. He chirped, woofed and yelped, explaining everything to Sinjin, who nodded a few times.

"Alright... Then I guess it'd be worth it making you into a master of improvisation, so you'll be at your full potential." - the ghost commented.

Suddenly, a holographic image of the Dark Ace made of crystal appeared, greatly startling Radarr. But he just stood still.

"Here's the challenge: you have to figure out a way to incapacitate him. You can use anything you want, but it can only be things you can find in your ship." - the spirit proposed - "Ready? Go!"

The projected crystal man jumped to attack. Radarr leaped out of the way at the very last second. A slime crystal appeared in his paw. The next time the talon commander charged at him, he shot a blast on his eyes, blinding him. While he was stunned, the little animal imagined the raptor whip Finn had kept as a souvenir and used it to tie the man's legs together, causing him to fall on his back on the ground.

Before the Dark Ace could attempt to free himself, the co-pilot imagined a blocking crystal, jumped right near the core on the vessel's chest, and used the crystal on it, effectively disabling the Medulla Crystal. The opponent simply froze in his tracks and didn't move at all after the core stopped pulsating.

"Wow, not bad! Of course, we're not sure if blocking the core would really stop him, that's what we imagine would happen. But you still did great, really quick thinking." - Sinjin complimented him.

Radarr smiled and chirped gratefully. Oh, yeah! He could really kick some tail, couldn't he?

* * *

In the Night Crawlers tower, Master Cyclonis was explaining her plans to the Dark Ace. He was looking at a few diagrams, scrolls, holograms and other objects she had shown him.

"I'm pursuing all the leads I can to try to figure out a way to rebuild it." - she told him as she gestured to some really old scrolls and a stone slab - "Your future tasks will be to ensure I'll be able to follow those leads."

He didn't respond to that, he just looked around until his eyes rested on a blueprint and a glass cylinder with the same kind of crystal that made his body inside. He kept staring at them for a while.

"And those?" - he asked while nodding at the objects.

"The research that brought you back is just one of a series of experiments I'm about to develop." - she disclosed - "If they're a success, this war is as good as won."

Again, he did not reply. This time he looked at the door to the corridor.

"Why are you working with those two?" - he inquired - "And what happened to the talons?"

"Dr. Sins was the only one with the knowledge I needed to complete my experiments. And Domiwick knows how to find new leads and follow them, so while he's after one, I'm after another. It makes the progress faster." - the Empress explained - "None of them survived the fall of Cyclonia as far as I know. At least, no one tried to make contact when my Night Crawlers made their way back to the Atmos to gather your remains. You don't have to worry about not having subordinates anymore, though. You'll be promoted to Night Crawler commander now, and you'll have authority to lead their squadrons during your missions."

He thought about that for a brief moment, then he proceeded to head to the door to leave.

"I'll start getting used to this new body..." - he walked out without looking back.

Cyclonis noticed that strange behavior, but dismissed it as him still needing to get accustomed to that vessel. After all, having one's soul bound to something that not their original bodies was a rather complicated experience, since his soul and the vessel could be rejecting each other. He might need some healing sessions in order to actually get his current state normalized.

* * *

Aerrow and Sinjin were dueling fiercely. The sky knight was enveloped in a cyan aura. Years had already passed, he had grown some muscle, became taller, his hair was longer and was messier than ever, he even had some beard! Though that was because he didn't really spend any time fixing his appearance, he only trained non-stop, so he looked like someone who truly slacked off with their looks. He wore a red jumpsuit.

After a short while, the redhead threw a very powerful punch that caused the ghost to be pushed back a lot, which broke his guard, then the boy quickly charged at him with a kick, knocking him back again several feet. The spirit fell on the ground, defeated. He slowly pushed himself off the floor as the aura around Aerrow dissipated.

"Guess the student is now the master." - the spirit said as he winced in pain - "I've nothing else to teach you, so we might as well go back and let the others catch up with you in their training progress."

The green eyed teenager walked up to him and offered a hand to pull him up.

"I gotta thank you for all the help. I think I might stand a chance now." - he said as he helped the deceased monk back on his feet.

"Yeah. But... There's something I'd like to try when we get back, to help you even further. This way I'll be more useful to you while I'm tagging along." - Sinjin told him, then he proceeded to lead their way back to the entrance of the dome.

Aerrow could only blink. What else could he possibly help him with? He had become a seriously strong and skilled fighter now, to the point he had surpassed the ghost, who was already an absolute master. How could he become even stronger? Regardless, he followed the blue haired dead young man so they could leave that harsh core.

* * *

Finn was hiding behind a tree in a dense forest. He held his crossbow close to his chest. He had slightly longer hair, was a little taller and with a bit more muscle. No beard, though. While he hadn't decided on a brand new haircut yet, he kept his beard shaved. He was wearing the blue jumpsuit that was given to him. He cautiously looked to the sides. Then the ground shook a little as he heard the stomping steps of someone coming closer. It was an image of the revived Dark Ace. The crystal man looked around, searching for him.

The blonde breathed in once, then he quickly rolled out of the tree, and bolted away. The enemy charged at him. The sharpshooter got near another tree and, right before the talon commander could strike him, he jumped and ran a couple steps upwards using the tree trunk, boosted himself by pushing against the bark, so he could leap from the tree and land on the Dark Ace's head, causing the man to stumble backwards and fall, then the teenager quickly aimed and shot at the core. The arrow shattered the pulsating medulla crystal, defeating the vessel.

The entire forest and the enemy disappeared as Sinjin approached. The ghost was clapping.

"Perfect. You did it without getting hit at all. Now your general combat skills are on par with your shooting abilities, and both are a lot stronger too." - he complimented - "Guess that's it for our training course."

"Finally. I was starting to get tired of seeing this foggy empty place everyday." - Finn said as the crossbow disappeared - "Let's blow this joint." - he pointed behind him with a thumb, then he started turning around to leave.

"Yeah, I wanted to ditch this place for a while now." - the spirit agreed.

He was getting a little sick of that repeated routine too. After living his whole life like that, it was a little easier to feel like he wanted to live an unpredictable day for a change.

* * *

Junko was hitting a wooden dummy with his hands as he walked around it. He had grown considerably, he was both taller and a little bulkier, his hair was also longer and had more volume.

"That's it, circle your opponent. Use every opening you get." - Sinjin said, then after another moment of watching him attack the dummy, he called again - "Okay, time for the final test now. You have to take this pebble from my hand."

The spirit turned around and held the pebble on his open hand behind his back. The wallop approached him and observed for a second. He reached with an arm, but stopped midway, he knew that was a trick and he'd not be able to get that pebble so easily. He came up with a plan: he stomped very hard on the floor, causing it to shake and make the ghost lose his footing. In the split second he faltered, Junko spun around to gain some momentum in order to aid in his speed and snatched the pebble from his hand.

"Got it." - the flight engineer said with a smile as he showed the small stone off.

"Well done. Quick thinking, controlled strength and swift move. Congratulations, you're a sky fu master now." - the deceased monk bowed down in a oriental fashion.

Junko grinned widely very proud of himself, and bowed down as well out of deep respect for his teacher.

"Can we go back to see the others? I really miss them." - the wallop confessed.

"Sure, it's about time. They miss you too." - Sinjin agreed - "You'll be surprised by their progress. It'll be great to meet everyone again."

Both of them walked away and disappeared in the fog, to return to the rest of the squadron, after such a long time apart.

* * *

Piper was flying around using levitation crystals. Her hair had grown longer and was no longer staying too upright, so she ended up improvising with her headband to tie it into a bun for the moment. She had become a little bit taller and her body also grew a little more developed. She was showing off her complete control over a variety of crystals. First, she used an icer and a blazer to shoot a fire and an ice bolt simultaneously, creating an interesting combination of two opposite effects. Then she used a geyser crystal to shoot water and a windstone to push the liquid further away and even faster, making the attack way more powerful. At last, she stood to face the Dark Ace in order to test a new ability she had been working on. She didn't imagine some hologram, though, she thought of the real deal, so he looked as real as it could get.

He instantly decided to attack her the moment he came to be. But he didn't have a chance to get anywhere near her, for she used a Binding Crystal on the vessel's core to make him stop on his tracks. A strange reddish aura appeared on her left arm, while a green one appeared on her right one, which held the crystal. According to how she moved her arms, the vessel would do something, like she was controlling a puppet. She had done it, she effectively managed to bind the vessel to her will through the Medulla Crystal. She smirked in a slightly unsettling way at her success.

"Hey, Piper!" - Sinjin suddenly called, snapping her out of her focus, so all the crystals and the talon commander disappeared - "How's the crystal mastery training going? Are you finished yet?"

"Uh... Yeah, I think so. I might have come up with something that could help us deal with the Dark Ace." - she replied.

"That's great! I'm sure the others will like to hear that." - he told her, then he gestured behind him - "Shall we go back now? Everyone's starting to return to the entrance."

"Oh, okay. Guess we've been here long enough. Let's go." - she responded as she proceeded to follow him.

She stared at her hands in thought, and she looked a little nervous and somewhat scared. What was that weird sensation she had felt just before he interrupted her? It felt... Dark. She briefly glanced at the ghost ahead of her to be sure he wasn't onto that weird behavior of hers. It seemed like he hadn't been able to notice due to her quickly reacting and going back to normal. She was uneasy about what the others would think or do, so she decided to keep that one to herself. She didn't want them to look at her like they did when Henny had disclosed about the turmoil in her. Also, maybe it was just her imagination or something, caused by the harshness of the place... There was nothing to worry about, right?

* * *

Stork was finishing tweaking a few things on a new control panel he had just built. His hair was longer as well, not having tried to cut it yet, so it was covering half of his face entirely. He refused to grow a beard, though. He didn't get any taller, and while he did get a little bit of muscle, he looked virtually the same, since he didn't really spend as long as the others in the dome. He remained closer to the easy edges of the dome way longer. So, in the end, he only aged a few months, while the rest had aged a couple years.

"There, that should do it." - he said as he fastened one last screw, then his tools disappeared.

"Great... Let's go back now, it's time to head to the entrance." - Sinjin nodded towards the general direction of the entrance portal - "At least you got a couple months of actual training... But that really wasn't what I had in mind."

"What's important now is that the Condor should be the safest place ever. This will give us all an edge against Cyclonis way more than sharpening my fighting techniques would." - the merb told him as he stood up holding the control panel - "Gotta think of the team as a whole first sometimes."

"Oh, so you do care... Saying you were only there because nothing better came up was just a facade, huh?" - the ghost smiled knowingly.

"... Well... Since it's Aerrow who owns the Condor... If I wanted to leave, I'd have to bid her farewell too..." - the carrier pilot said.

"Exactly. But you still didn't train to make yourself stronger to survive on your own. You focused on the Condor all the time, when she's not even your ship." - the spirit commented - "Just admit you don't see yourself ever leaving, and the Condor isn't the only reason."

"Fine... Don't go spreading it around now..." - the green skinned humanoid rolled his eyes.

"C'mon, let's go." - the deceased monk chuckled, then both made their way back.

* * *

Radarr stood triumphantly on top of a pile of opponents he had just defeated with sheer versatility. Among them were Ravess, Snipe, Repton, Carver, the Dark Ace and Cyclonis herself! Again, he had to take into account that those images only had abilities he knew they had, so they didn't truly represent what they were actually capable of. But the fact he had managed to defeat their known skills was still something, nonetheless. The little animal hadn't aged too much, just a few months, so all that happened was that he grew a little, and his fur was a bit longer.

"You get them, buddy." - Sinjin cheered as the pile of enemies disappeared from under the co-pilot, causing him to fall on his behind on the floor - "We better leave now, this very short time we're spending in the core might be too much for you."

Indeed, the creature had asked to train at least one week there, just so he could improve sharply in the final days of training. But the ghost was right, that place could certainly cripple him if they stayed there too long. Besides, he wanted to go back to the others as well.

"Alright, time to reunite with the rest of your squadron. Oh, by the way, Ayrgyn made you all new armor, so you might want to get yourself fixed up before you show up to everyone." - the spirit told him.

True. Everyone had probably changed too due to aging. He couldn't wait to see what they all looked like now and how much they had improved. Radarr promptly followed Sinjin out of the core and towards the entrance portal. It was time to find out!

* * *

Mr. Softy and Sinjin waited near the exit of the dome. The ghost had merged all of his images back into one again and left the Storm Hawks be so they could get changed alone. Finally, the little caterpillar wiggled his bum happily upon seeing a silhouette.

The first one who came out of the fog was Aerrow. He had decided to keep his hairstyle intact, with just one change: since he wasn't that fond of cutting his hair, the hair on the back of his head remained longer and he had it tied into a low thin ponytail. His new uniform consisted of a red and blue long sleeved shirt, navy blue pants, short brown and blue gloves, and brown boots, with reddish brown leather protections for the shoulders, elbows, wrists and knees. His armor had way better protections too: it protected both shoulders, his forearms, his arms, his elbows, hands, his entire torso, his back, his tights, knees, legs and feet. The new armor for the feet actually covered the whole foot, instead of just on tiny spot like before. He still had that scar on his left eye too.

"So... Liking the new clothes?" - the spirit asked him.

"Yeah. I feel like this looks a lot more like the original Storm Hawks uniforms, but with a touch of our own personal style. Ayrgyn knew what he was doing." - the sky knight shrugged as he checked himself out.

"Hey, look who's shown up with a new style." - a voice said.

It was Finn, with Junko, Radarr and Stork coming right behind him.

The blonde had cut his hair just a little bit shorter, and left a single bang down. He wore a short sleeved brown and blue (with two shades of blue) shirt, brown and blue pants, dark brown fingerless gloves and brown boots. His leather protections were also brown. His armor was very similar to Aerrow's in the sense of how many body parts it shielded from harm, but it had the curved style he used to wear.

The wallop had gone back to the haircut he used to wear during his childhood. He had only changed his hair before because he wanted to be accepted, but after all that time with the squadron, he knew they'd accept him the way he was, so he decided to go back to his roots a little. His uniform was a sleeveless blue and green shirt, bluish green pants that reached all the way to his feet, blue fingerless gloves and darker green leather protections. His armor protected the same as the others', but his looked a little more square-like, compared to Aerrow's, that was sharper and more angled.

The merb made quite a few changes to his hairstyle: he let the left side of his hair grow more and cut the right side shorter, so both ended up somewhat even. He added a couple piercings to his other ear, and made the hair on the back of his head into a very short braid with a couple green beads. His clothes were a long sleeved dark blue and brown (two shades of brown) shirt, dark brown pants, dark green fingerless gloves and greenish brown leather protections. His armor, shielding just like the others', was a mix of Junko's and Aerrow's style, with some angled plates and some square like ones.

The co-pilot didn't change as much in appearance, his fur was just a little longer and looked more groomed than normal. His uniform, though, had suffered some modifications: he wore a single piece cloth in blue, purple and cyan. Its sleeves reached up to his elbows, and the legs reached his knees. He traded the bandages for actual brown leather protections. His armor also protected as much as the others' and even his tail! Yep, his tail had plated protections. The plates for him were a mix of Junko's square like design with Finn's curved one.

"Guys! Wow, you've all changed a lot too." - the redhead greeted them all warmly.

Those years really made him miss everyone. The boys shook hands and even shared hugs, and Radarr immediately occupied his place on Aerrow's shoulder. The moment their mascot saw Junko, he quickly went to him, rubbing his head against his leg.

"Mr. Softy! I missed you so much, little buddy!" - the wallop picked the little creature up and let it sit on his shoulder.

"Oh, my sweet Condor... Don't worry, we've been apart for too long, it's not gonna happen again." - Stork said as he gestured to the ship waiting just outside the dome.

Aerrow smiled at that, then he noticed they were one member short. Not the whole squadron had arrived yet.

"Hey, where's Piper?" - he asked as he looked around briefly.

"Right here! Sorry I took so long." - she shouted, her voice coming from behind the group.

All of them turned around, then when their eyes landed on her just stepping out of the dome's entrance, they could only blink somewhat agape. Wow... Just, wow... What a pleasant surprise, alright.

Out of everyone, Piper changed the most, after all, girls usually change more during puberty. She decided to keep her longer hair and, to make it more practical, she tied it into a ponytail with an orange ribbon. As for her clothes, Ayrgyn had said she should change her style, so what he designed for her was drastically different. She wore a sleeveless dark blue and orange single piece uniform that ended at the same height as Starling's shorts. It didn't go all the way to her neck, so it showed some skin on her chest area. She had a yellow loose short vest like cloth on top of it. Her arms were covered by light blue clothes in three separate sections: from right below her shoulders to the upper part of her arm, then the elbows and part of the arms, and then the wrists and part of her hand. No gloves. She wore very thick dark brown stockings to cover her legs until her lighter brown boots came, so they worked like one large leather protection. The rest of her leather protections were also dark brown. Her armor shielded her exactly like everyone else, but to make it look more feminine and delicate, Ayrgyn made it with rounded edges. The one thing she kept intact, though, was her necklace.

"So pretty..." - Junko said almost dreamily, both his and Mr. Softy's eyes sparkled.

"And to think I used to forget she was a girl sometimes." - Finn crossed his arms and smirked.

Stork actually pinched himself once! Radarr was smiling broadly, his ears perked up and his tail was waggling happily. Aerrow was equally awestruck: all he managed to do was stand there agape and not utter a sound, it was like he had been frozen solid.

Seeing as all the guys needed a few seconds to get used to that, Sinjin decided to welcome her since the leader currently couldn't do his job.

"Piper! Wow, looking great there. Rocking that uniform!" - he complimented her as she approached them.

"Thanks. I have to say, Ayrgyn has really good taste." - she checked herself out for a brief moment.

Radarr and Mr. Softy jumped on her to give her a hug. Both animals nuzzled against her face. She giggled as she embraced them.

"I missed you too." - she said to them, then she looked at the others - "All of you."

At that, the boys finally snapped out of their dumbfounded states so they could greet her properly. Junko couldn't help but pick everyone up in a tight bear hug.

"I'm so happy we're all together again!" - he nearly cried.

When he finally put everybody back down, they took a good few seconds to breathe.

"Someone got stronger than ever in there." - the blonde said as he rubbed his aching back.

"Yeah. We're all new and improved. And we're reunited." - their leader suddenly spoke, he was ready to inspire them again - "Together, we'll defeat Cyclonis once and for all, like the true Storm Hawks we are!" - he said as put his hand in the center of the circle they had formed, then all of them followed suit while nodding determined.

"We're back in action, dude!" - the sharpshooter cheered.

"Let's kick some major Cyclonian tail." - the navigator smiled.

"Time to show them the new us!" - the wallop encouraged.

"They'll face _our_ wrath now..." - the merb said with a smirk.

Radarr chirped in agreement, and Mr. Softy looked really excited.

"That's right, you guys. It's time you'll come out on top!" - Sinjin told them.

"Yeah!" - the squadron shouted in unison as they moved their hands upwards in celebration.

After that, Aerrow took the lead once again.

"Storm Hawks! Let's fly!" - he shouted.

All of them quickly ran out of the portal and towards the Condor, to set off to their goal. This time, they'd win.

* * *

**NEXT EPISODE:**

**Episode 62** (parts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5)


	38. Episode 62 - Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This episode has a series of 5 companion videos made for it. You can check it out by visiting my other story ["Videos: APFR Origins"](http://archiveofourown.org/works/13666971/chapters/31393404).

**Episode 62 - The Journey Begins**

**Part 1 - The Call**

" _One's origins are a very important aspect about the person. It can determinate what they'll be and what they might fulfill in their lives._ " - the voice of the Guardian spoke as the calm skies from the Atmos could be seen - " _Their origins will always remind them of where they came from, and no matter what, one should never be ashamed of it. To progress, one must accept who they are, so they can be able to change themselves and the world for the better._ "

A small silhouette of a terra among the clouds was being slowly approached: Terra Nimbus. It was a slightly cold morning in there. A little boy, Caucasian, with red spiky hair and green eyes, wearing a red shirt, blue pants and brown shoes ran down a hill towards someone else.

"Daddy!" - he shouted as he hugged an adult man.

The man was all dressed in armor, he had red hair, just like the kid, but his wasn't that spiky, and green eyes too. His blue uniform had the Storm Hawks insignia, for he was their sky knight, Lightning Strike.

"You made it in time, Aerrow." - he said as he knelt and hugged the boy back.

"You won't take too long to come back this time, will you?" - the child asked.

"Probably not. It's the last battle, we'll win this in the blink of an eye, you know your father is the fastest out there, right?" - he smiled.

"Yeah, but I'll be even faster when I grow up!" - the boy challenged him.

"Hehehe, I'm sure of it. You're my son, alright." - the man laughed.

Two people approached them, one was a dark haired young man with black eyes, the co-pilot, and another was a blonde woman with blue eyes, the navigator.

"Lightning, it's time to go." - the man called him.

"Right." - he nodded, then he turned to the boy again - "Be good to your mother." - he put a hand on Aerrow's head, messing his hair a little.

He stood up to leave.

"C'mon, the other sky knights are waiting in the battlefield." - the woman rushed him.

They all ran towards a ship: the famous Condor, the fastest carrier ship in the world. The ship rose in the sky, then shot out and disappeared among the clouds. The fearless Lightning Strike had left with his squadron for yet another mission.

His son waved as he stood near a woman with peach skin, blue eyes and light copper hair that sat by her shoulders. She was wearing beige pants, brown shoes and a yellow coat. Two more people approached them, a boy and a girl, older than the little kid. They were his siblings. The boy had slightly more tanned skin, like his dad, copper hair and green eyes, and his hair was surprisingly tamed, the girl had peach skin, was red haired and blue eyed, she kept her hair in a short pony tail. The boy wore a blue shirt, beige vest, black pants and brown shoes. The girl wore a lilac dress-like shirt, light gray pants and white shoes. They all waved together, then they walked to the other side of the hill.

* * *

Several weeks had passed and no news. Not only no news from the battle or Lightning Strike, but no news about anything at all. People also started to notice that they haven't been able to trade goods with other terras. The few traveling merchants that left the terra didn't come back, nor had any merchant from elsewhere come by. It felt like the terra was isolated from the world, like their communications had been severed, like there was some kind of blockade going on so nobody could enter or leave the terra.

And with every passing day, the people feared they were in for the worst: a siege... Which was exactly what happened - the Cyclonians raided the terra with a huge army led by Snipe, a man who had recently become a Sergeant. He'd soon be the one in charge of the whole quadrant in the Atmos where Terra Nimbus belonged.

Little Aerrow was playing outside when he saw the battleship and the talon switchblades coming closer. He stared in horror as they started to shoot and the ship's canons destroyed a house. He bolted towards his village to look for his family, but in the middle of all the commotion it was incredibly hard to move around.

"Aerrow! Aerrow!" - his mother shouted as she and his siblings left their house and tried to find him.

"Mom, look!" - the middle sister drew her attention as she pointed ahead of them.

The little boy was spotted running fast towards them. They all reunited as the mother embraced her youngest son very fondly.

"Thank goodness you're okay." - she said in relief.

They ran quickly towards the Storm Hawks headquarters, which was a big tent in the terra. They knew there was a secret passage in there that would give them access to a special bunker where they could protect themselves. But once they arrived there, they saw several troops raiding the place. They gasped: they didn't expect the Cyclonians would have gone there right away. The enemy soldiers aimed their crystal staves at them threateningly.

"You guys run! I'll hold them back!" - the elder son shouted as he charged at the talons and knocked down two of them with a low kick.

His mother, sister and young brother nodded fearfully and ran away from the area. The boy watched as they headed to the exit of the village, trying to get away from the bigger commotion. In that split second the Cyclonians easily overpowered him and his struggles didn't help him anymore: he was taken down permanently.

The family kept running as fast as they could to reach the docks, but when they were almost there, more talons appeared and blocked the way. The children hid behind the woman as she glared at the Cyclonians. They walked towards the trio slowly. A talon appeared from behind them and grabbed a hold of the young girl.

"Mom! Help! Please!" - she shouted in horror.

"You stay away from my children!" - Aerrow's mother yelled at the men and tackled the soldier who was trying to take her daughter away.

The other Cyclonians immediately dashed at her to pull her off their ally. In the middle of the confusion, the woman stared at Aerrow and glanced at the edge of the terra, as if she were telling him to run away on his own. He blinked scared and unconsciously shook his head slightly, but she looked at him firmly: that was an order. He swallowed his thoughts and nodded without questioning, then turned around and sprinted off. He didn't get that far when a shot from one of the battleship's canons hit the group fighting back there. He looked behind him with a shocked expression and could no longer think of anything as tears ran down his face. He was almost sure his family had just died.

More shots came down, making the ground shake and him lose his footing. The light of the explosions was blinding and the noise they made was deafening. He couldn't hear anything, but he managed to catch a glimpse of even more blasts coming at him, so he pushed himself up and headed for the brink of the terra. When he was nearly there, a charged blast came down and the huge explosion pushed him off the terra.

He flipped in the air once then he fell... On the ground. For his luck, he had landed on one of the smaller portions of land that floated beside the main area of the terra. He stared behind him and saw the silhouette of talons searching for him. He looked around and found out he could reach another quadrant of the terra where he could hide if he tried to jump by the small rocks floating around the main land.

He ran quickly towards the edge of the floating landmass where he had landed when all of a sudden a white hawk appeared in front of him, coming from below. He halted his steps and looked at the bird. The creature stared intensely at him, then its eyes glowed very brightly, nearly blinding the boy and causing him to fall on his back.

What he saw next just left him stunned and completely bewildered: his vision was blurred and he could no longer see the real world, then a starry night sky appeared, moving up very fast, followed by two suns rising on the horizon and at last the earthly ground of some terra. All of that was merged into what faintly looked almost like a face. A human face. Then, a silhouette of a person wearing armor with angelic wings coming from their back and holding two lit up twin blades was the new focus. Finally, just as fast as the vision appeared, it faded away and the bird was gone.

The boy just sat there staring blankly at nowhere as he tried to register what had just happened. What in the world was that?! But before he could come down to any conclusions, he heard two talons jumping down on the same landmass where he was. He gasped as he looked at them. He stood up to run but before he could go anywhere he saw the battleship ready to shoot at him if he gave them anymore trouble. He lowered his head in defeat. Oh, no... He had been caught. He just surrendered as the talons put handcuffs on him and took him away.

"This kid is a lot tougher than he looks, I bet they'll find use for him in the mines when he gets a little older." - one of the talons commented.

"Yes. It's the only reason why he isn't in the execution list anymore. Let's take him to the infant's prison." - the other one said.

The boy was taken to the battleship and stood by the door with the guards. He sadly stared at the blue sky one last time, watching his freedom going away with it, before he'd be left without its light for quite a long while. No... That just couldn't be happening... It couldn't be real...

* * *

It was real. Hours later the ship arrived to a big prison facility right beside a factory where the minerals gathered by the prisoners were melted and transformed into the metal used in the Cyclonian armors, weapons and rides. Aerrow waited in a long line with several other children that were all bigger than him: he was most likely the youngest one out of them.

"Next." - a man called from a desk.

It was his turn. The boy approached the table and once the Cyclonian looked at him, he blinked.

"How old are you?" - he asked.

"Four..." - the child answered quietly as he stared at the ground.

"What's this?" - the man angrily turned to some talons - "Why is he here?"

"He showed incredible resilience according to the reports of the invasion on terra Nimbus. He was judged useful for us in the mines, sir." - one of the soldiers explained.

"We'll have to wait at least three years to throw him in there because he's too young." - the snarky man said - "Where are we gonna keep him? We have more than enough light scavengers, the children cells are all full."

"Sir, he could stay in one of the cells under maintenance." - a talon suggested.

"Hm... That might do for now. Throw him in cell 47 from corridor H." - the man mumbled as he signed some papers - "Next."

The boy walked along a bridge towards the prison, the cold wind from the area making him shiver. He entered the dark corridor and was led to a cell far away from the other prisoners. There was nobody else in that corridor. He'd be left there, all alone, for three whole years... They opened the door to the cell and removed his handcuffs. He sat on the available bed, then they tossed him a Cyclonian prisoner uniform as they locked him in there.

"Don't try to cause any trouble, kid. You're lucky to be still alive." - a Cyclonian said to him.

Aerrow glared at the ground when he heard those words, then his expression softened when he noticed the soldiers' steps moving away. Once he was sure he wasn't being personally watched, he placed the uniform on the bed, stood up and studied his cell.

It was a small cell, with the tiniest window ever, a bed made of a wooden plank nailed to the wall with a pretty uncomfortable mattress and one vase. No sink, no toilet paper, no blanket, no pillow. The floor and the walls were made of the coarsest stones ever and they were very cold, there was also a hole on one of the corners of the ceiling, where water dripped from constantly. The mattress was filled with sawdust and sand, so it was hard as a rock and pecked the skin a lot. The vase didn't even have any water inside and the flush didn't work.

He rolled his eyes, no wonder it was under maintenance. It could be worse, though, it could have no vase at all, or no bed, or no ceiling, just a bunch of bars... At that, he sat on the bed and it broke off the wall, falling on the ground with a thud and cracking the wood. He also came to notice the water coming from the leak in the ceiling was forming a small puddle near the bed, wetting the mattress a little. He stared at the scene downcast. Note to self: never, repeat, never mention anything about things being worse, because they _will_ become worse then. Talk about tough luck...

Luck... The Cyclonian's words crossed his mind again. He was lucky? Really? He frowned, then grabbed the bars of the cell and pulled on them with all his might. No use. He'd not be able to escape from that place. He walked near a wall and sat on the ground, then he saw a pebble beside him, picked it up and threw it against the bars, causing the sound of metal being hit to echo through the corridor.

He sadly stared at the dirty floor. Why did that have to happen to him? What did he do to deserve that? And it was all that stupid bird's fault! And that stupid vision of some stupid person he didn't even know! He had already taken an instinctive disliking towards whoever that was, blaming them for what had happened to him. What did that vision have to do with him at all?! And what about his family?!

His family... He was having a hard time thinking about them. For some reason, ever since he had that vision he could barely picture the fuzzy faces of his relatives or remember their names, like he was suffering some strange kind of amnesia. And it was all that bird and that person's fault! He'd gladly exchanged that image of the person's face that was burned in his mind for some memories of his family... It was like it was there to replace them or something. He buried his face on his knees as he hugged his legs, silently crying about his dreaded fate: being stuck in a cold unforgiving prison, all alone, with his family most likely dead while he drifted into oblivion. As he slipped further into his depression, a ghostly hand gently touched his shoulder, as if trying to comfort him somehow, but he was too lost in his thoughts to see or react to it. After a little while, the hand disappeared as Aerrow slowly fell asleep.

* * *

_It was a very dark and foggy place, the unknown dim source of light made everything look reddish. The air felt extremely heavy and it was hard to breathe. The place looked like a vast plain, the ground was very dry and dusty, no wind, no plants, and no sign of anyone. Aerrow walked carefully, looking around in fear. He stopped when he noticed what seemed like a flash of light behind him, then heard a noise, so he instantly turned around._

_He saw a guy, Caucasian with spiky hair, dressed all in armor, dropping two twin blades on the ground as a girl of about the same age, with short dark hair and dark skin, also dressed in armor, rushed to him. The two late teenagers shared a rather tender embrace, but then they suddenly noticed him and broke apart to turn and look at him. Their faces were surprised and confused._

_They looked like they were talking, but they weren't speaking loud enough for him to hear. Then he heard steps, so he looked to his side and saw a tall Caucasian man with dark hair, wearing a uniform and armor too, walking towards the two. The three spoke some more among them, still not loud enough for him to pick up anything, so he took two steps closer, which drew the spiky haired guy's attention._

_"Who are you? And where am I?" - the child asked fearfully._

_The guy blinked and immediately exchanged glances with the girl, who shook her head. She said something to him, then he nodded and turned to Aerrow._

_"Don't worry, this is just a dream." - he said._

_"A... A dream?" - the kid was confused._

_"Yeah. Nothing bad is gonna happen to you. This is just a crazy dream." - he reassured him._

_"Hm... Feels more like a nightmare..." - the child responded as he briefly looked around._

_"I know, this place looks pretty scary. But you'll be fine, you'll wake up soon enough." - the guy told him as Aerrow lowered his head - "And... For what it's worth... Things will get better, just hang in there."_

_The kid instantly looked back up at him when he heard that. He felt like he was completely lost there. That guy said that with such a conviction, it was as if he knew his future somehow. He had that look of determination in his face and a very strong presence. Aerrow strangely felt like it was familiar, while at the same time he looked up to that guy, even though he had never met him before. He wondered if one day he'd grow up to be like him. And he had no idea why those thoughts had suddenly swarmed his mind. Then he saw the dark haired man approach him and place a hand on his head._

_"I believe it's time for you to go now." - the man said calmly - "Your sleep is nearly over."_

_The kid frowned a little, he was still kinda bewildered. Then the girl's voice drew his attention._

_"Take care." - she said softly with her hands clenched in front of her heart - "And don't ever give up."_

_The child blinked. Wait, that girl was...! But before he could finish his thoughts, everything turned white._

* * *

Aerrow woke up with the sunlight nearly piercing his eyelids, so he moved an arm in front of his face protectively as he slowly pushed himself off the ground until the glaring light was not blinding him anymore, then he rubbed his eyes and sat up. He felt like he had just woken up from a very bizarre dream, but he couldn't remember it at all. Yet, he felt a strangely strong resolve in his heart, and an urge to keep going. He stared determined at the light blue sky outside. He'd not give up. He would survive, and one day he'd be free.

* * *

Three years had passed, and Aerrow was finally at the age to be thrown in the mines along with the older kids and adults. His life as a scavenger was rough from the get go, with all the squeezing through holes, working during the rain, cold, excessive heat... But he knew he was really in for it now. As the guards walked him to his new cell on the underground, they passed through some tunnels in the mine. The boy could see all those people - which were mostly children and teenagers, with only a few young adults - their weak appearance, their dirty clothes, their lack of will to keep living. Both kids and adults shared those traces, which only made things sadder. How could someone ruin a child's life like that?

He was taken to a new cell, where, again, he'd be left all alone. He sighed, having hoped he'd at least have a cell mate just so he'd not be so lonely. But soon his wish for company became an aversion towards it when a certain event happened later that day.

It was one of the two lunch breaks in that 16 hours shift, and the kids were all in line to receive their food on their bowls. It wasn't anything fancy at all, it even looked like some spooky goo, but it was better than starving to death. And, since there were children of all sizes in there, the bigger ones obviously felt the need to bully the smaller ones. Go figure... One just happened to attempt to do the same to Aerrow, who was a newcomer. He was fat, had orange spiky hair, slightly tanned skin and light green eyes.

"I see you're a new one, so I'll take it easier on you this time and explain how things work. I'm Grimsley and I'm the one in command here." - he suddenly approached him in an intimidating manner - "We, the bigger kids, always get double to compensate the uselessness of the weak little children in the mines. So that means I get your dinner and you get to be sloppy."

He moved to grab Aerrow's plate, but the latter immediately stopped him, pushing his hand against his face.

"I saw you down there. You don't work any harder than anybody here!" - he said angrily, for he hated seeing injustice - "There's no way I'll let you take my meal or anyone else's again!" - he shouted.

The fat kid was enraged and attempted to punch him, but the red haired boy quickly dodged and grabbed a good hold of his arm, twisting it around until Grimsley was immobilized on the ground. The smaller kids cheered, while the bigger ones stared in fear. All the commotion attracted the attention of the guards, though, who came running to stop the fight.

Poor Aerrow was terribly punished: he was taken to the tunnels in the lower levels, the ones that passed very close to the lava filled Wastelands. The young kid was obliged to work for hours squeezing himself through those tight tunnels where the rarest and hardest to mine metals were. He had to hammer the walls twice harder, risking the tunnel to collapse on him and to top it all, it was so hot and stuffy in them that they felt like a maze inside an oven.

Finally, at night, the green eyed boy got back to his cell filled with burn marks and scratches he earned in his punishment right in the first day, all for trying to defend himself from a bully. From then on he learned his lesson: he'd never sit in the canteen again, he'd only eat in his cell, all alone, without one single friend in the world...

He sat on the ground, since his cell didn't have a bed yet, and carefully massaged his injured arms. Did he wish there was some kind of medicine he could use to ease the pain. Sigh... Those were the worst moments of his life. As he thought deeply about it, two ghostly hands appeared again and softly touched his injuries. He couldn't see the hands or feel their touch, but he had a strange yet relieving sensation of part of his pain going away.

Suddenly he heard a noise and saw a weird animal pushing the hatch of an air duct and come into his cell. It was a rabbit-wolf-monkey like creature, with long ears, blue fur, a furry tail and monkey paws. It was just a pup. It sniffed the air, looking for food, but it realized there was nothing interesting to eat in that cell. Until it saw the boy from the corner of its eyes and froze.

"Hey, are you hungry?" - Aerrow asked it, but the wild thing didn't move, it cowered a little - "I still have something on me, the Cyclonians didn't feel like taking away a bitten apple." - he said as he pulled the small fruit out of his pocket, and yet, the creature remained backed up near the air duct entrance, causing the boy to sigh - "Well, you can take it if you want." - he put the apple on the ground then lied on the floor near the wall, to be further away from it and give the creature more space.

The animal perceived his sadness and got that the kid wasn't attempting to harm it, so it walked closer to him. Aerrow noticed it approaching, so he sat up and reached his arm to touch it, but it stopped in its tracks and growled a little at him. It was then that he realized something: it had a nail stuck on one of its paws.

"You're hurt, I bet it happened when you got in the air duct." - he figured, to which the creature nodded - "I can help you, if you trust me."

The critter looked at him for a moment, studying him one last time. It concluded for sure that kid didn't have any bad intentions, so it softened its stance and lifted its injured paw. The boy slowly knelt and carefully held the nail, in an instant he pulled it off. The animal screeched in pain, quickly retreating to the air duct entrance, then proceeded to lick its wound. Aerrow decided he'd no longer bother the creature and would leave it alone, for it was still very distressed, so he just went back to the corner he had been sitting at.

Barely a minute later, he saw the wild thing perking its head above his leg. It made a funny noise, as if thanking him for the help. He smiled, then he noticed it silently observing him, looking almost concerned, like it was asking him what had happened and how he had gotten to that place.

"I don't think you know that, but there's a big war going on right now." - the boy explained, but then he blinked: he was having trouble trying to retrace the events, like his memory loss got worse with the years - "I... I don't remember what happened very well... I was running away from some soldiers attacking a terra... I think it was my home. But then... I fell off the terra and I hit my head, that's why I can't remember." - he put a hand on his head and he could feel a peculiar tingling pain when he touched a certain point in his nape - "I was on a rock, trying to escape when... That bird! That stupid bird! It came out of nowhere and blinded me! After that the Cyclonians caught me and I was taken here!" - strangely, though, he could remember the darn feathered thing very vividly.

The animal chirped confused when the boy spoke about the bird, as if it were questioning him about it.

"I think it was a white hawk... I heard it's a really rare bird and very few are lucky to see one. If you call that luck... It was that bird's fault I ended up here! Why did it have to get in my way and show me that weird... Vision or whatever?!" - he complained.

The furry critter perked its ears and rested one paw on his leg, interested in the vision. It had heard a thing or two about a special bird that grants visions before.

"It was so strange. A night sky, two suns and the ground... And then everything got mixed up and... And I saw someone's face." - he told the animal - "It was a girl I never met before."

The rabbit-wolf-monkey looking creature jumped up and down on its knees excited, waving its arms around, then pointing at the window.

"What? You think I should go look for her?" - he asked skeptically - "Well, you don't get visions for no reason... Maybe..." - he trailed off, thinking about his current situation - "Right... As if I'm ever gonna get out of here. Better just forget this." - he said as he turned to stare at the wall - "Anyways, what are you after all? I've never seen an animal like you."

The creature blinked. What was it... What a silly question... But then it put a hand on its chin. The thing is, though, it couldn't speak, so... How could it tell him its species?

"Ah... Never mind..." - the boy said, picking up on the inviability of the question - "So... Are you a male?" - he asked, and the animal nodded, then grabbed the apple Aerrow had left on the ground and offered to share it with him - "Thanks..." - he said as he split the fruit and took the bitten half for himself - "Do you come here all the time?"

The creature nodded, then he pointed at the open hatch on the wall and at the window.

"So you know how to come in and out through the air duct." - he glanced at the pipe without its grate - "Hm, I don't think I'd fit in there."

The critter shook his head. No, he wouldn't. He felt sad for the boy. Having to be stuck in that prison was surely awful. But then he chirped, an idea had hit him. He pointed at the apple, at the air duct and at Aerrow, then he dashed to the pipe and ran through it.

"Wait! Where are you going?" - the green eyed kid asked.

He just stared blankly at the air duct, then he frowned. He was all alone again. A few minutes later, the animal came back bringing with him a few berries, a small cooking crystal with pretty much no juice left, some bandages, a flower plant that could heal burns, a worn out blanket and a wrench.

"Wow! Where did you find all this?" - the boy asked as he picked the crystal up.

The creature pointed at the window, meaning he had scanned the area outside.

"You're pretty good at looking for stuff. And you seem to know what they are." - he commented, then he showed the animal the wrench, to which he nodded - "Oh, I'm Aerrow, by the way."

The critter chirped, as if he were saying "nice to meet you". But the kid looked blankly at him, then stared at the wrench.

"Do you mind if I pick a name for you? I mean, I have to call you something, right?" - he asked.

The creature shrugged sheepishly. The boy had a point. Then he nodded in agreement.

"Okay, then. I'll call you... Radarr." - he said.

The animal looked upwards in thought. Radarr? Hm... That name had a nice ring to it, and it actually fit. Yeah... Radarr... He'd now be called Radarr. He gave Aerrow two thumbs up, letting him know he'd stick with that name.

"Haha, glad you liked it." - the boy petted him behind the head.

Radarr's ears shot up, then he melted. Man... Did that petting behind his ears feel good... After having finished eating and treating both their injuries, Aerrow laid on the blanket and the little pup curled up beside him. They stared at the night sky for a moment.

"You know, Radarr? Now that I have your company, I think things will get a lot better here." - the kid said, then smiled and closed his eyes to sleep.

Indeed. He could feel he would be able to count on Radarr more than anyone else in that prison. Having one true friend in all that mess was like shining a light in the darkness. And the little animal felt the same way. Both of them knew that from them on they'd be best pals forever.

 


	39. Episode 62 - Part 2

**Episode 62 - The Journey Begins**

**Part 2 - Pranks, Plans and Pals**

It was night, explosions could be heard in the distance coming from the bombs being dropped by the enormous airships that were invading Terra Merbia. It was storming a lot, the winds shook the trees and lightning lit up the sky. A lone merb came out running from the woods and reached the edge of the terra. He had black hair, green skin, yellow sclera and black irises. His clothes had shades of brown and blue, with a blue belt, beige fingerless gloves and two piercings on his left ear. He halted his steps, panting a lot, then glanced back. He cringed as a loud thunder made its presence, then he turned back to see the silhouettes of switchblades coming closer. His eyes widened and his breath went shallow. No, he couldn't take it. Against all that he had been taught about avoiding danger, he jumped and sank below the clouds. Then he pulled a cord and a balloon was released, so he could float in the treacherous skies of the Wastelands.

He drifted for a good while, hoping not to be attacked by dangerous creatures. But suddenly, his balloon collided with one of the pointy rocks, which poked a hole on it. The merb looked up and gasped, then screamed as the air coming out of the balloon propelled him in all directions uncontrollably. Finally, he landed roughly on the ground, sliding a few feet forward face down. He laid there for a moment, then tiredly pushed himself up when he took a glance at something that made him blink. Right there, in front of him, was none other than the Condor, the legendary ship of the Storm Hawks squadron. It was badly damaged from its fall and the years it spent abandoned in there, but with some care it could shine again, good as new. He stood up, hesitantly looked around, then ventured into the ship.

* * *

Four years had passed since Aerrow and Radarr met. The two grew inseparable. The boy worked really hard on the mines and usually got really tired, but he was starting to get used to it. The little animal helped him out by snatching extra food from the kitchen and scavenging the area around the prison, looking for cool stuff or maybe even tools that could help Aerrow escape.

A few weeks after the red haired kid had turned eleven, the prison was receiving a big amount of prisoners that had just been captured from their most recent invasions. There were so many new people that they didn't have enough cells to keep everyone individually, so they'd have to make many of the prisoners share their cells. And Aerrow was one of them.

He and Radarr were just playing a little during the morning, right before the shift, when they heard the steps of the Cyclonians and the animal quickly hid in the air duct and closed its grate. The soldiers walked to the door of the cell and proceeded to open it.

"Because of the large number of new prisoners, many will have to share their cells now." - one of the talons said - "Here, you have company."

They pushed another boy who was about his age into the cell, then locked the door behind him. The kid was Caucasian, blue eyed, with blonde hair and wore a Cyclonian uniform already.

"The shift is about to start, you better get going at once." - the other man said.

"By the end of the day, there'll be another bed in the cell." - the first talon told them, then both left.

The blonde just sat on the ground where he had been pushed to and didn't move. He was studying Aerrow to determinate whether he was a cool inmate or... His worst nightmare. The green eyed boy glanced at him, then at the corridor and, once he made sure there was no one within ear shot, he moved behind the bed to grab three berries Radarr had gotten earlier that day. He tossed one of them to him and kept the other two for later, just in case. The kid grabbed the food gratefully and ate it voraciously. Was he hungry, he had been without anything to chew for hours!

"Thanks. My stomach couldn't take it anymore." - he muttered as he stared depressed at the ground.

"You better get used to it, then. Things won't be any easier from now on." - Aerrow offered his hand to help the new boy up.

"How bad is it in here?" - the blonde asked as he was pulled up while also regretting making the question, since he could somewhat anticipate the answer.

"16 hours shift in the mines, only two lunch breaks. Step out of line once and you get punished right away." - the redhead summed things up pretty bluntly - "Also, so far there's no escaping, and no getting out. Though I'm still on the lookout."

The blue eyed boy looked around for a moment.

"There's really no way out?" - he felt almost hopeless.

"Not that I know of. Unless you feel like jumping to the Wastelands." - Aerrow nodded towards the glimpse of the frightening lands that could be seen from the window - "At least you're having it better than I did, since they'll bring a bed for you today. The first time I was thrown here I had to sleep on the floor for a week." - he pointed a thumb behind him, at the ground.

"I'm guessing you're like a veteran who knows everything, then." - the new kid commented.

"Not everything. And I'd rather not stick around long enough to do so." - he told him - "But I know the most important thing is surviving. You won't make friends here, so you gotta know how to fend off for yourself. You can't count on anyone."

And did he know that... Radarr nodded from inside the air duct, but then he blinked. Why was he still hiding? He pushed the grate of the pipe off and jumped out of there. The blonde saw him and screamed in fright.

"Hey, it's okay! That's Radarr, he's not gonna hurt you." - the green eyed boy assured him.

"Oh... Right." - he said as he knelt on the ground to take a better look at the animal - "Heh, he looks kinda cool. Is he your pet?" - he reached out to pet him.

At that moment, Radarr growled annoyed. How dare that brat call him a pet?! Aerrow had to quickly intervene, so the creature would not do anything to the unaware kid.

"Uh, no! He's my friend." - he explained - "We've known each other for years."

"Ah, that's neat. He looks friendlier than most of the other kids around here." - the blonde commented as a shiver ran down his spine.

A fictional scene of him being bullied there had crossed his mind. It so would happen if someone put tons of kids together in a dreaded place like that, where they'd sometimes have to compete to have a decent meal...

"Yeah, that's why I always eat in my cell." - Aerrow said - "I'm not afraid of bullies, but fighting them back gets you into trouble." - he showed him his older Cyclonian uniform with burn marks and some rips here and there.

The blue eyed kid grimaced at that. Ouch... So either you'd get bullied or they'd punish you if you defended yourself. Talk about tough luck... Now the thought of him having to stay in that prison for years would give him nightmares. Well, the redhead was being pretty informative and definitely nicer than the rest of the prisoners looked like they'd be, even if he was kinda blunt. Maybe they could become friends.

"Uh, hey, thanks for the warning. My name's Finn, by the way." - he offered his hand for Aerrow to shake.

"I'm Aerrow." - the boy kind of hesitantly took his hand and briefly shook it. It was a little awkward interacting with another human after so long.

" _Attention, the shift will start in 5 minutes. Everyone head to your posts._ " - the voice of a Cyclonian spoke through the loudspeakers in the ceiling of the corridor.

"Well, time to go." - Aerrow said as the door of their cell opened so they could go to the mines.

Before they headed out, though, Finn couldn't help but ponder about what Aerrow had said earlier.

"So... You said we can't count on anyone. But... Can I count on you?" - he asked.

The green eyed kid stared at him in thought for a moment.

"Maybe there _can_ be a few exceptions..." - he smiled a little, which made Finn feel like there was a glimpse of hope for a possible friendship - "I can count on you too, then, right?"

"Sure! If you got my back, I got yours!" - the blonde nudged him.

"Then it's settled." - he said - "See you later, Radarr."

The animal waved at them as they left for the shift, then he ran to the air duct and hid in there, closing the hatch behind him.

* * *

As always, the 16 hours long time in the mines was really tiresome, but it wasn't that boring now that Finn was around. He and Aerrow worked together, which made the hard work go a little easier on each of them. And if one needed to rest for a minute, the other would cover him. It had been a while ever since Aerrow had an actual human friend, so he wasn't that talkative, but the blonde didn't mind that, since he spoke enough for the both of them sometimes.

A few hours later they were in the first pause for lunch, and they ate their food inside their cell, sitting in front of each other and talking a little.

"How did you get in here when you were 4?" - Finn asked.

"My home terra was attacked and I got caught." - the red haired boy shrugged as if that was nothing.

It was about 7 years since that had happened. He didn't feel as much pain from that as he did when the incident was still fresh. And he omitted the actual reason why he got caught. He really didn't like talking about that subject, so he decided to forget about it. Maybe things would go back to normal, at least normal enough, if he just got to be distracted. It had kind of worked with him and Radarr so far. It should be even easier with someone to talk that could actually respond.

"That was it? Or you don't wanna tell?" - the blonde questioned him - "What about your family?"

"No big deal." - Aerrow replied bluntly - "I was captured while trying to escape. I hit my head that day, so I don't remember things clearly. What about you?" - he quickly changed the focus of the conversation from him to Finn.

"I didn't get caught right away when they invaded my terra." - the blue eyed boy began - "I was only captured when the Cyclonians found out what I had done to them."

"Huh? What do you mean?" - the kid sitting in front of him asked.

The boy smirked quite mischievously as he retraced the events.

* * *

_A group of Cyclonians was going on patrol of the terra they had just conquered. They were heading towards their switchblades so they could fly off. But once they turned the engines on, a strange light came out of their crystal converters and their rides were turned into a bunch of feathers!_

_Finn let out a quick laugh from his hiding place, and immediately put his hand on his mouth, so he'd not be heard. But some of the talons had managed to figure out his general direction and were advancing towards the bush he was hiding at. He quickly picked up a rainbow smoke crystal and threw it against a tree._

_The crystal ricocheted, then bounced on the ground a few times, creating a lot of colorful smoke. The soldiers coughed a lot, and the boy used the opportunity to sprint off. He ran into the woods, since there he'd have a better chance of catching them off guard, plus, he had already plotted a few things._

_The Cyclonians figured whoever was targeting them would have tried to hide in the small forest, so they headed there. The kid rubbed his hands together anxiously. Oh, they were in for a surprise! Once they stepped in his field of view, they triggered the trap: one of the talons tripped over a wire and that caused several girandole crystals to fall from the tree tops nearby._

_When the crystals hit the ground, they blew up into fireworks. The exploding sparkles made the talons pretty much dance frantically not to get burned. They ran around like crazy, crashing into each other and falling on the ground, then getting up as fast as they could, attempting to run away from the area._

_Soon that mess of colorful explosions was over, though. And it was then that they could hear Finn giggling from behind a tree. They quickly surrounded him and he gasped fearfully: the soldiers were glaring angrily at him._

_"Hehe... Oops?" - the boy laughed nervously - "Can we talk this out?"_

* * *

Aerrow and Radarr, who had joined them when Finn started telling his story, laughed at that.

"Haha, no way you managed to do all that on your own." - the boy chuckled.

"You've never seen a _real_ prankster in action, then." - the blonde grinned - "Whenever I get the chance, I'll show you how it's done, dude."

And from then on, Aerrow learned how to actually have some fun, even in the situation they were in. Finn didn't lie when he said he was really good at playing pranks. He was a master at it, and he proved that. In the following weeks, the boy had plotted quite a few plans and they seemed fool proof.

In the first week, the kids had set up a trap for the main cook. They made Radarr sneak on the kitchen in the morning and prepare the prank. When the cook entered the place, nothing seemed out of ordinary, so he went to make that awful soup from everyday. He opened the door to the compartment where he stored the food and there he saw Radarr growling at him with his mouth foaming, making him look like a rabid animal.

The cook screamed and ran to grab a frying pan to smack the creature with. He swung it, but Radarr was too fast and dodged out of the way with a leap, landing on the cook's head, then somersaulted to the ground and bit his behind.

The man yelled in pain and ran around frantically, trying to get the animal off him. The kids took the opportunity to steal some actually decent food from the kitchen's storage and get out unseen. Once they hid behind a wall with some fruits, precooked meat and a few cooking crystals, they stared at each other knowingly. The plan had worked to perfection.

In the second week, they decided to target the guard that watched the corridors of the cells, just for the fun of it. Finn had managed to nab a soap from the collective showers and told Radarr to place it on a strategic spot. He also had fashioned a slingshot so they could execute the plan from within their cell. Aerrow was on the watch, observing as the Cyclonian walked all alone, making sure the prisoners were asleep.

"On my signal." - he whispered to the blonde - "Now!"

The kid with the slingshot shot a pebble at a lamp, breaking it and causing the whole place to go nearly pitch black.

"Got it. Your turn, Radarr." - the boy turned to the animal.

Aerrow had lent him his shoes, so he could run and simulate a prisoner trying to get away. And the little guy managed to fake that just fine.

"Hey! Who's there?!" - the soldier shouted and tried to make his way towards the sound of the footsteps.

The red haired boy's part was next: he picked up another pebble and a small rainbow smoker Radarr had managed to find in his little trips outside. He softly tossed the smoker towards the talon, then threw the pebble against the bars of the cells across theirs.

That startled the Cyclonian, making him turn around, attempting to figure out where did the sound come from, since the echo made it seem like the noise came from everywhere.

"Quit fooling around!" - he shouted again as he walked backwards slowly, then he began coughing a little from the strange mist - "What's this?"

Because of the lack of light, the smoke looked bluish, and then what he saw next made him quite scared: he saw two spooky glowing eyes appear in the other end of the corridor. In fact, it was actually Radarr holding two shiny cooking crystal fragments, but the man couldn't have guessed that, so he jumped in fear and ended up landing on the soap that had been conveniently placed exactly where he was supposed to land.

Conclusion: he slid all the way towards the wall across from where Radarr was and hit his head really hard. The impact caused the loudspeaker on the ceiling to break and fall on his head, leaving him unconscious. The two boys and the animal laughed in whispers, so they'd not wake up the other prisoners.

In the next week they came up with yet another prank, this time they focused on the guards of the tunnels in the mine. They had prepared a spot for the prank one day before. It was a small tunnel, where an adult wouldn't be able to fit in. They had rammed their pickaxes on it just enough to make the rocky structure get loose. They knew that right below it there was the layer of rock above the steamy hot air from the Wastelands, so that ground was extremely hot.

Aerrow carefully hit his pickaxe on the wall they had tampered with up until a hole opened to the wide open area. He quickly went to warn a group of guards.

"Sir, I think I found an opening in the mines." - he told one of them.

"Where's it? Take us there." - the talon replied.

The kid led them to the wall with the hole. The first Cyclonian popped his head through the hole to look outside, and when he supported his weight on the rock, the structure collapsed and he fell on the heated layer of rock. He jumped screaming in pain as he held his smoking behind.

The other soldiers squeezed themselves near the big crack on the wall to watch their ally jumping up and down like crazy so he'd not burn his feet. Finn took the chance to do his part of the plan. He proceeded to casually hit the wall nearby, as if he didn't have a clue of anything.

The soldiers noticed the wall around them was starting to break, as cracks appeared on it, then they stared at the blonde.

"You! Stop ramming the wall, it's..." - one of the guards said, unaware that the kid knew about that.

"What?" - the boy asked, looking completely clueless.

But the few times he rammed the wall were enough already: the ground cracked below the Cyclonians and the whole group fell on the hot layer of rock. They all screamed in pain as they jumped up and down, just like the first talon who had fallen in there. The kids laughed a lot and the soldiers didn't even notice. Then they appeared near the crack, pretending they were worried about the situation.

"Sirs! Hang on! We'll go get a ladder!" - Aerrow shouted, then the two of them walked away.

"So, you're really gonna bring a ladder?" - Finn asked playfully.

"Yeah, we can't just leave them in there. And they'll know it was us if we abandon them now." - the red haired kid smiled.

"Alright, enough fun for today." - the blonde agreed.

They ran towards the lockers room where they found a storage compartment for some emergency tools. They grabbed the ladder and brought it to the crack, so the Cyclonians could get out. When the talons got out, one of them turned to the kids.

"You're lucky this was only an accident, or you'd have been punished for this." - he hissed at them.

The children shrugged sheepishly, to show the most innocent looks ever. That way the soldier couldn't pin that on them. The men left, and when they were out of sight, the kids smirked.

* * *

"Hahahaha! That was awesome!" - Aerrow laughed as they headed to the kitchen to fetch their last meal of the day - "Our best one yet."

"Hahaha, totally." - Finn chuckled - "Did you see his face when he said 'You're lucky this was an accident, or we'd punish you'!" - he made his own silly impression of the man, then both let out guffaws.

Suddenly, a fat kid rushed by them and bumped into the blonde's shoulder.

"Out of my way!" - he mumbled as he got in front of them to grab his plate.

"Hey!" - the blue eyed kid shouted - "What's the deal?!"

"Just forget it." - Aerrow quickly put his arm in front of Finn, so he'd not attempt to jump at that boy - "It's not worth it."

"Fine... But who's that guy?" - the blonde asked.

"That's Grimsley, he's one of the bullies. But he won't mess with you because I'm here." - he told him.

"Why?" - Finn didn't understand.

"I stood up against him in my first day here." - the red haired kid explained as both of them grabbed their plates - "No one else put up with him anymore since then, so he had to ease on it. Still, that just earned me the harsh punishment I told you about. It's not worth it."

"Oh, I get it." - the blue eyed boy said - "But hey, you're cool, then, because you kicked his tail."

"Meh." - Aerrow shrugged - "Just... Don't try that." - then he reached his plate out so the cook could pour the soup on it.

"No worries, I won't." - Finn smiled as he got some soup as well - "We should get back to our cell then, so we don't get into a fight."

"Yeah, let's go." - the green eyed boy agreed and both left for their cell.

* * *

That night, the boys were in the cell, and Radarr was with them. They just laid in their beds, the little animal cuddled near Aerrow's legs, sleeping soundly. The two kids were chatting a little about trivial things.

"So, what do you wanna be when you grow up?" - the red haired boy asked.

"I'm gonna be the best sharpshooter ever! And then I'll become so rich I'll buy all the cool things I always wanted!" - the blonde said excitedly - "What about you?"

"I think... I wanna be someone who can help people..." - he said quietly.

"What? Like a super-hero?" - the blue eyed boy teased at the childish idea.

"No, just... A normal hero, I guess." - the red haired kid chuckled, then he turned serious - "For some reason I feel like that's what I'm supposed to be."

"I see. Maybe you'll be a hero. You already have this knack for beating up bad guys anyways." - Finn said, referring to the fact that Aerrow had knocked down a bully, helping most of the kids of the prison in the process.

"I guess so." - the green eyed boy shrugged.

"You do, I mean it. The other kids clearly respect you for what you did." - the blonde smiled, then he yawned - "Well, night, Aerrow." - he turned to the wall.

"Night, Finn." - Aerrow replied.

If he had to be honest, he was actually unsure about that, even though it was something he wanted. Being a hero... Hah, he could barely help himself inside that prison, helping another person then... That was depressingly pathetic. He felt so useless. Why even bother? It's not like he'd ever be able to make a difference anyways, he should just stop being silly.

He stared at the sky through the window. The dark starry sky was quite pretty. A night sky... His vision flickered in front of his eyes, a flash from his subconscious. The night sky, the two suns rising and the earth, forming a face. A face he had once grown to dislike for well known reasons, but now... He didn't seem to feel anything bad about it anymore, on the contrary. After that, the silhouette with the angelic wings and the twin swords flashed once in his mind. Then he felt a weirdly familiar sensation of having been in a creepy place in the presence of a very mighty warrior. Suddenly a voice echoed in his head.

_'And don't ever give up.'_

He sighed, a feeling of longing washing over him, then he closed his eyes and went to sleep.

* * *

Three more years had passed ever since Finn had joined Aerrow and Radarr. The prison mine was growing bigger too, and there were many more prisoners now. Also, not all of the old prisoners were there anymore: some had already passed away, others pledged their loyalty to Cyclonia, so they could become talons instead of working on the mines. And that was applied to the young prisoners too.

In a certain week, a group of teenagers had been selected to become a Cyclonian Youth Brigade, and among them was Grimsley and his two friends. The fat guy walked by along with other two guys wearing jackets with the Cyclonian insignia. They headed to the exit of the prison, and for that they passed by the kitchen, where Aerrow and Finn were grabbing their lunch.

"Well, well, look who's here. It's Aerrow and his little pal." - he said cynically.

"What do you want, Grimsley?" - the red haired boy asked bluntly.

"Just bidding farewell. I'm going out, now that I joined the Cyclonian Brigade." - he boasted.

"Good riddance." - Aerrow responded sarcastically, and proceeded to walk away.

"I'll be out there watching you rot in here." - the fat guy taunted.

Whatever... Better rot in there than become a Cyclonian wannabe.

"But don't worry, I'll pay a visit to your home terra for you." - Grimsley said.

The redhead was starting to get really annoyed at that, he held his plate more firmly.

"Aerrow, ignore him, he's an idiot." - Finn whispered to him as they walked further away.

He was right... It wasn't worth their time giving any attention to that spoiled brat.

"Maybe I can check on your family's tombs to give them your regards." - the boy finished.

Aerrow blinked in anger. Now that did it! He put his plate on top of Finn's and threw himself against the insolent teenager. He tackled him mercilessly to the ground, then he swung a fist and punched the fat guy in the face with all his might.

But Grimsley also retaliated, he pushed Aerrow off him, causing him to fall on his back, then jumped on him to give him a few punches as well. The green eyed boy used his legs to throw the fat guy over him, then got up to leap at him again. Grimsley stood up as well and prepared a fist of his own. But before they could clash again, two Cyclonian guards held their arms firmly.

"No fighting!" - the one holding Aerrow's arms shouted, to which the boy didn't give a care and kept giving Grimsley a death stare.

"The prisoner's going to be punished, while you'll head out right now, or we'll throw you back in a cell again!" - the other one said harshly, causing Grimsley to blink in disbelief, then glance at the ground angrily.

The fat guy was led to the exit, and Aerrow was taken to the tunnels that passed close by the lava of the Wastelands, where he'd work for the rest of the shift, just like when he was younger, though this time, the fight had happened in the beginning of the day, so he spent over twice longer in there.

It was night time when Aerrow finally got back to the cell, and he had missed the last meal pause. He tiredly walked inside and sat on his bed. Both Finn and Radarr stared at him worried.

"Hey, you okay? I snatched an extra plate for you, and Radarr found some bandages." - the blonde said as he offered the plate and showed the small bag of bandages.

"I'm fine." - he dismissed the plate and grabbed a roll of bandage.

He took off his shirt and tossed it on the bed, then proceeded to bandage his arms and elbows. His shoulders were also a little scraped, but the arms were a lot worse.

"You sure you don't wanna eat?" - Finn asked.

"I'm not hungry tonight." - he said bluntly as he stared kinda angry at his wounds, then finished bandaging them up.

The little animal whimpered sadly at that. His buddy was in a pretty bad mood.

"Rough day, huh?" - the blue eyed guy tried to start conversation, but Aerrow just nodded in response - "Well, at least that stupid Grimsley isn't here anymore to mess with us." - he tried to refer to one positive thing about what had happened.

But that only made the red haired teenager angrier. That Grimsley was out there... That idiot had it better than him! And for what? For joining the bad guys?! He clenched his fists. Now that was too much!

"You know what? I'm sick of this place!" - he said harshly - "I've been wanting to escape from here for years! Ever since we've met, I stopped looking for a way out to play some pranks instead." - he told Finn as he rolled his eyes - "It was fun for a little while, but now it doesn't even make sense anymore. I can't stand being locked up in here like this!" - he punched the bars of their cell.

"Wow, calm down!" - the blonde said.

"No, Finn, I won't calm down." - he stared at him in the eyes - "Do you want to stay here forever?!"

The boy blinked at that question a little taken aback. And even the furred creature was surprised at how Aerrow nearly snapped at him. But he was right. Finn had been there for only three years, so he didn't get the chance to become used to it and then grow an aversion to that place yet, but Aerrow... He was there long before him. He could understand how he felt.

"No, I don't..." - he replied quietly.

"Then we better think of a plan. Let's quit the pranks and figure a way to escape from here." - the green eyed guy put on his shirt again, then lied on the bed.

Radarr didn't feel like bothering him, so he just lied on the ground and made himself comfy in there.

"Yeah, you're right. Maybe one day something will happen and we can take the chance to run away." - Finn said as he also laid down, to which Aerrow nodded.

They all went to sleep, their minds set on a new objective. A while later, Finn and Radarr were already sound asleep, but Aerrow stared at the night sky as a faint glimpse of the two suns rising and the earth appeared. He barely could make the female face in his mind, it had been so long.

"There you are. It's been a while." - he whispered to nobody as he smiled weakly, the serene face soothing his mind, almost like some kind of angel watching over him - "You know, the strangest thing is... I've missed you. Even though I don't know who you are."

He reached one arm out a little, as if trying to grasp something, and a ghostly hand appeared to touch his. He couldn't see or feel it, but he had a sensation as if he were grabbing her hand or something, and that was very comforting. He came to notice that sensation was very similar to other feelings he had before those years, and he realized it could've been her all along, somehow trying to help him. Just who was this mysterious girl who kept appearing for him in his dreams and bringing him such tranquility and comfort? Well... One day, soon, he, Finn and Radarr would be free again, maybe he could meet her out there. They could even become friends... Who knows?

* * *

From then on, the two boys started to scan the mines and take notes of any possible escape routes. They managed to find quite a few paths, the problem was that the main entrances were heavily guarded, so either they'd get caught in the very last part of their escape, or they'd have to jump to the Wastelands. So they couldn't afford that. They needed something to happen, a distraction.

And to their luck, an opportunity had presented itself. In one of the shifts, Aerrow overheard two adult workers talking as they walked by towards the kitchen for their pause.

"Some of the tunnels are dangerous. The walls are too fragile." - one said.

"Gotta be careful, since they're all connected to the main tunnel. We can't be breaking all the walls in here." - the other replied.

"Yeah. There's a section from the main tunnel that's very unstable too. If we're not very cautious, we could make the whole mine collapse on us."

The boy blinked. That was it! But they'd need more to help them out. Hopefully the others found out something they could use for their advantage. Later that day he met up with Finn and Radarr in their cell.

"Any news?" - he asked.

"I had Radarr sneak near the offices to spy on the bosses. A new batch of prisoners is coming next week, and one day before many of the guards will leave to escort the incoming ship." - the blonde told him.

"Haha, that's great! Guys, I just figured our way out." - the red haired boy punched his own hand.

The blue eyed guy and the animal stared at each other, then back at him.

"You got a plan?" - Finn asked, and Aerrow nodded determined.

* * *

" _The main tunnel has an unstable section. If we give it some work, we can use it to make the mine collapse and destroy this underground prison along with it._ " - he explained.

In the next week, they began the preparations. Whenever they could, they'd sneak out of their tunnels to go to the unstable section to place some cooking crystals Radarr was told to bring them in small holes in the walls. Since the crystals were covered by tiny rocks and very few people ever went to that area because it was too dangerous, nobody would notice the hidden crystals.

" _We should do this at night, when there aren't many guards on the main entrances. And in the day before the prisoners arrive, there'll be even fewer of them!_ " - he commented.

Indeed, during the night, there were only five guards per main gate, three that watched the gate, and two that stood on a tower, so they could be on the look out. Unlike in the day, when there were at least ten guards per gate, because there was a lot of movement inside the prison during the shifts. And in the night before, there'd be only two guards per gate!

" _When the mine starts collapsing, the alarms will ring and all the cells will open._ " - he said - " _Since this will be at night, we should make sure we can get out of our cell before anyone else, because I doubt they'll just let us go._ "

And so they did. In one of the nights, as the warden watched over their corridor, they made Radarr destroy the lamp again, then knock the guard out. After that he snatched the keys to the cells, and the two boys worked the whole night on making an exact copy of the key to their cell.

" _Everyone will be running for their lives, so in the commotion, we'll make our way out._ " - he concluded.

They thought of going straight to the hangars, where the switchblades were parked. They stealthily went near there quite a few times in the next two days, and they figured out three different ways of getting there, just in case.

One day before, they made some last minute preparations: checking over the unstable section and verifying the cooking crystals were still there, paying attention to the shifts of the guards, so they'd be sure that in the night of their escape, there'd be the exact amount of guards they were expecting, and finally, confirming that their escape routes were still available.

At that night, they met in their cell, where Aerrow had a list in his hand and was taking a few notes.

"Supplies and tools, check. Cooking crystals, check. Hangar bay bridge, check. Escape routes... All check." - he marked.

"We're all set then, right?" - Finn asked.

"Yep." - the green eyed boy said, then Radarr suddenly jumped in the middle of them, wearing a blue and purple uniform, and a brown backpack, causing them to blink - "Where did you get that from?"

The animal chirped, pointing somewhere. The boys looked at where he pointed at and saw a pile of clothes.

"You found all that on your own?" - the blonde asked, to which the animal nodded, and he grinned as he picked up the fingerless gloves and a blue and brown shirt - "Ah, now that's more like it. Much more my style."

"I was tired of having to wear these Cyclonian uniforms too." - the red haired teenager said as he took a pair of gloves and boots - "Thanks, Radarr." - he petted his head.

"Yeah, you're the man... Animal... Thing... Uh... You're the 'it', buddy!" - Finn gave the little guy a thumbs up.

The creature looked at the blonde funny and just blinked, but then he shook his head playfully, chirped happily at his friends and smiled proudly about himself. His name was Radarr, after all, it was for a good reason! The night grew darker, and soon all the prisoners were asleep. The three of them laid in their beds, well, Radarr was sticking by Aerrow's. They stared at the sky and smiled widely.

"Hard to believe we're escaping for real tomorrow night... It's so close." - Aerrow began.

"Yeah..." - the blonde agreed - "But I can't wait! And _you_ must be eager than ever."

The red haired boy chuckled at that. It was true.

"What's the first thing you'll do when we get out?" - he asked.

"I'm going to the coolest place ever: Terra Neon! I'm staying there at least a whole week!" - Finn said excitedly, making Aerrow laugh a little - "What about you?"

He didn't reply right away. He hadn't really considered what he'd do yet... He stared at the sky and an all too familiar feeling consumed him. His eyebrows furrowed in thought. Maybe it was time to accept that what he had been shown, that all he had gone through was for a reason. That it was meant to be. And that he still had a duty to do.

"I think... I'm gonna look for someone." - he said almost unsure of what to make of his thoughts.

Radarr's face lit up immediately at that. Finally, he had come to the right conclusion!

"Uh... Someone who?" - the blue eyed boy questioned him.

"When I was trying to run away from the invasion in my home terra, a white hawk appeared and showed me a vision." - he told him, as his eyelids partially covered his eyes - "I saw a face... A girl's face. But it's all fuzzy, like when you try to remember a dream after you forgot most of it. I guess I'm supposed to meet her, because this vision always appears when I go to sleep, as if to remind me she exists. And now I can't look at the night sky without her coming to my mind."

"Oh... Wait, wait, just how long ago was that again?" - Finn looked at him with a "please, refresh my memory" expression.

Aerrow closed his eyelids.

"Ten years." - he said at last.

The blonde's chin fell and his eyes widened in shock.

"Woah! _Ten years?!_ " - he almost shouted - "Dude, do I feel sorry for you."

"Huh? Why?" - the green eyed boy raised an eyebrow at that comment.

"This girl you haven't seen in years, and you're crushing on her..." - he said - "It must be awful to feel that way for so long."

It was Aerrow's turn to be wide eyed.

"Finn! I do _not_ have a crush on her!" - he spoke pretty much as if scolding him - "I don't even know who she is!"

Yep, clearly the blonde had only heard the parts that interested him, otherwise, Aerrow would have gotten that message across the first time around.

"What? Then how are you gonna find a random girl you never met before if you have no idea what she looks like?" - Finn questioned him, finally properly aware of what he had been told.

"I guess I'll just know when I see her." - he said.

"You sure she's not some imaginary friend you came up with?" - the blonde was kinda skeptical.

"I didn't 'come up' with her, the white hawk showed her to me. And I don't think a white hawk would show me visions of things that aren't real." - the redhead made a valid point.

The blue eyed boy shrugged.

"Okay, dude. You know what you're doing." - he said bluntly - "Just don't go wasting your time on this forever if you don't find her. Don't miss out on your life."

"Yeah... I know, I know." - Aerrow rolled his eyes playfully - "We better get to sleep, now. Tomorrow's the day."

Both turned to the walls and went to sleep. The redhead was a little bit restless for a moment, though. He felt a strange sensation, like an urge to find that girl and protect her, as if she were in some kind of danger and he needed to hurry up to be able to save her.

"Don't worry, we're coming." - he said quietly to himself.

He couldn't let that sudden call for help go unanswered. He had to help that girl, after all, wasn't that what he thought he was supposed to do? Help others? And he'd soon get his chance to. Tomorrow, they'd finally open the doors to their escape, they'd at last get rid of the chains of their slavery. For the first time in years, they'd be free...

 


	40. Episode 62 - Part 3

  **Episode 62 - The Journey Begins**

  **Part 3 - Meeting the One**

It was a dark and quiet night. No clouds in the sky, the whole prison was asleep. There were fewer guards in their posts than normal, because quite a few of them had to leave to fetch more prisoners that'd be arriving in the next morning. That was the perfect opportunity. Aerrow, Finn and Radarr were awake, dressed in their new clothes and ready for their escape.

Aerrow wore the red and blue shirt, long brown and blue gloves, dark blue pants, brown boots and a metallic bracelet on his right wrist, while Finn had the blue and brown shirt, dark teal pants, blue fingerless gloves and brown boots.

"Okay, Radarr, get to your position and wait for our signal." - the red haired boy said.

The animal nodded, he grabbed an unstable cooking crystal and ran through the bars of the cell, towards the prepared section of the mine.

"You have the key in hand?" - Finn asked.

"Right here." - Aerrow showed him the key they had managed to copy.

"Alright. Tell me when I have to shoot." - the blonde said as he aimed with the slingshot.

The green eyed boy nodded. He poked his head through the bars a little: there was only one guard monitoring the whole section C of the prison. He was currently passing by their corridor and was about to turn to the other corridor across from theirs. They could hear his footsteps because of the metallic boots.

"Wait for it... Wait for it..." - Aerrow said as he placed the key on the door of the cell, then he heard the footsteps fading away - "Now!" - he shouted as he turned the key to open the door.

Finn shot a quite brilliant girandole crystal through the window. The crystal blew up into fireworks in the sky, and the noise was the signal Radarr was waiting for. He immediately threw the unstable cooking crystal at a wall and it exploded, causing a chain reaction that made all the other crystals hidden in the holes to blow up as well.

The Cyclonians were watching the strange fireworks when they realized the ground was shaking a lot.

"The mine! It's going to collapse! Sound the alarms!" - one of them shouted.

The alarms were rang really loudly, waking up all of the prisoners. Their cells opened and a talon's voice shouted in the speakers.

" _Emergency evacuation! Everyone, get into a line and head to the exits._ "

But of course nobody paid attention to the part about getting into a line. All the prisoners and even the soldiers ran around crazily, desperately looking for a way out. Most of the Cyclonians made it to the hangar bay really quickly, because they had the fastest access to that area, and they flew away with their switchblades.

Aerrow and Finn ran by the corridors, heading to the main escape route leading to the hangar. The red haired boy looked around and didn't see his best friend.

"Something's wrong, Radarr should've found us already." - he said.

"You think he got lost?" - Finn asked.

"I don't know, we better look for him." - he replied.

"Then let's go fast. We don't have much time left." - the blonde commented.

They sprinted off to another corridor, heading to the mines. Maybe they would find the little animal on the way there. They ran as fast as they could, but no sign of him, they even made it to the tunnels and nothing.

"Radarr! Radarr!" - Aerrow shouted.

"Where are you, Radarr?" - Finn helped.

But no response from the creature. They shared glances, the green eyed boy was very worried, and the blonde was confused. Where could he have gone to?

"I'll look for him in the tunnels, you head to the hangar and search for him on the way. I'll meet you there." - the red haired guy pretty much ordered.

"What? You're crazy, dude. Let's just go, he must be waiting for us in the hangar by now." - the blue eyed boy said.

"What if he got caught up in the explosion?" - Aerrow was concerned - "It's not like we tested if our plan was safe."

"Okay, fine. But I won't come back all the way here again." - Finn told him.

"And you're not supposed to." - he responded as he lit up a flare.

"You have 30 minutes." - the blonde warned.

"Alright. Now go!" - Aerrow said, then they parted ways.

The green eyed boy searched frantically for the little animal in the many tunnels. He had to dodge falling boulders and everything. C'mon, Radarr! Where was he?! He finally got to the unstable part of the mines and it was completely blocked by rocks. If there was anything in there, it definitely wouldn't have survived. He clenched his fists. He hoped the poor creature had gotten out long before the boulders fell. He sprinted back towards the prison facility, attempting to get to the hangar as fast as he could.

Along the way, he passed by one of the rooms of the Cyclonians and saw a mirror with the corner of his eye. He paused for a second because the reflection drew his attention. He stood facing the mirror: the low light coming from the flare and his position seemed familiar. Suddenly, the image of the silhouette with the angelic wings and the twin blades flashed in his mind. And it looked almost exactly like his reflection. Could... Could that vision have been about himself in the future? Well, present now. The ground shaking had him push those thoughts aside, though, so he bolted through the prison.

Finn was running by the corridors. He passed by the mess of people crazily trying to find their way out without thinking things straight. When he was almost getting to the hallway that led to the hangar, he saw a shadow falling from the ceiling right in front of him. He flinched backwards and screamed, but then he recognized who was that.

"Radarr! Don't scare me like that!" - the blue eyed guy scolded him - "Where were you all this time? Aerrow had to go back to the mines to look for you!" - he said, which caused the animal to whimper worried - "C'mon, he'll meet us in the hangar!" - he grabbed the creature by the tail and ran with him.

After a few minutes they finally arrived to the gates of the main hangar bay, but when they opened it, there were tons of Cyclonians and prisoners already there, fighting for the switchblades. Their eyes widened.

"See? This was all _your_ fault for not meeting with us in the main hallway like we had planned!" - the blonde blamed Radarr.

The animal blinked in disbelief. He was pinning that on him?! As if it was easy to get out of that explosion. He had to run to the air duct to escape, and that's why he was unable to get to the hallway until he finally found a hatch to come out of the pipe! Talk about being an ignorant prick!

"Now, what?" - Finn asked, and the furred creature pointed at the hallway - "Right, let's go find Aerrow."

They headed back to the prison. While that, the red haired boy ran by the corridors of the lowest floor to get to the stairs, but he noticed something strange: the place was empty! And he could no longer hear the commotion from the floor above him. Darn it! Was everyone gone?! Then he glanced to the side and caught a glimpse of something... Shiny. He stopped right away and paid more attention: it... It was a white hawk!

The bird was flying outside of a certain door across another corridor. Aerrow blinked as he realized it was the very same one from a decade ago. He just stood there perplexed when he heard someone calling him.

"Aerrow! Where are you?! Aerrow!" - it was Finn's voice, and also Radarr whimpering in worry.

The green eyed boy snapped out of his stunned state and turned to the stairs.

"Guys! I'm down here!" - he shouted.

Soon he heard the rushed steps of his friends. The little animal chirped in joy and jumped on him to hug him, rubbing his furry face against his.

"Phew, we finally found you." - the blonde rested his hands on his knees to breathe - "You won't believe it. The hangar was swarmed and everyone was fighting for the skyrides!"

"That's bad..." - Aerrow frowned, but then he recalled the white hawk and stared at the door: it was gone.

"What's up, what are you looking at?" - the blue eyed boy questioned him as he tried to see what his friend was seeing.

"This way, follow me!" - the red haired guy said and sprinted ahead.

"Hey, wait! Do you even know where we're going?" - Finn asked, but still went after him.

"No." - he answered bluntly - "But I have a... Hunch."

A hunch?! What a reckless crazy guy he was!

"Then why are we going there?! We'll end up trapped!" - the blue eyed boy complained, though he didn't stop running.

The three bolted towards the door and when they went through it, they were agape. They had actually found a secret exit! They stood on a big platform, inside a huge tunnel with the open sky above them a few miles away. And to make things even better, nobody was there.

"It's an underground hangar bay!" - Aerrow commented as he looked around - "But, no skyrides left. The Cyclonians took them all already?"

"Nope." - Finn said smugly as he pressed a red button that opened a huge automatic gate, revealing several switchblades lined up side by side - "Plenty of them yet. Guess not even they knew that."

Aerrow and Radarr smiled. They still had a chance! The green eyed boy and the animal climbed on one of the switchblades, while the blonde chose another one. The two Cyclonian rides accelerated and shot out towards the sky. The walls began to shake and crumble. A huge boulder got loose and fell, crashing against Finn's skyride and sending him flying upwards.

The blue eyed guy screamed like a girl as he flew in the air, then felt his body starting to fall back down. Aerrow reacted quickly and grabbed a hold of his arm, then pulled him so he'd sit behind him.

"Gotcha!" - he shouted.

"Thanks..." - Finn mumbled, then he saw something ahead of them and pointed at it - "Big rock!"

The red haired boy pulled the switchblade to the side right on time, narrowly missing the boulder.

"Nothing to worry about." - he smiled back at his friend confidently.

"Many big rocks!" - the blonde warned him again.

The incredibly skilled pilot made the skyride do some barrel rolls and side loops, dodging all the boulders smoothly. But their problems didn't disappear: the opening to the surface was starting to get blocked by two massive pieces of rock that had gotten lose from the walls!

"Oh, man! That's the only way out!" - Finn lamented already.

"We'll make it!" - Aerrow said determinedly.

He accelerated the switchblade to its maximum speed. That made dodging the boulders a lot harder, but he didn't disappoint. The passage was getting narrower and narrower. Almost there... Finn and Radarr closed their eyes. Almost there! Aerrow squinted his, but didn't flinch. He gave it a last extra boost and pushed them out of the tunnel just before the two massive boulders crashed against each other, sealing the access to the underground for good.

They all cheered at that. They were free! They were free! At last, they were free! As they flew by the night sky, the blonde nudged him.

"Dude, that was awesome!" - he complimented him - "When did you learn to fly like that?"

Aerrow chuckled a little.

"Well, I..." - he tried to remember.

But it was then that something occurred to him. Just... How did he know... How to fly? And how was he _that_ skilled? Suddenly, he had an intense flash from his mind: a glimpse of a man with red hair, green eyes and all dressed in armor, and a small boy that resembled himself as a kid a lot, flying on a silver, blue and red skimmer with an empty cockpit through the skies.

That scene made him lose his focus in the real world completely. He couldn't see anything around him anymore. Who... Who was that man? And... Was that boy... Himself? But his thoughts were interrupted when he heard Finn shouting his name and screaming like a girl, snapping him out of his self induced trance.

When he finally adjusted his unfocused vision, he saw it: a huge tree was closing in on them really fast! He moved the skyride to the side not to crash right into it, but he didn't react soon enough, and the wings got caught by the tree. They were ripped off the switchblade, causing it to go out of control. They crash landed on an unknown terra not way too far away from where the mine used to be and were knocked out in the process.

* * *

It was early in the morning, birds sang peacefully and the sun shone its warm light rays everywhere. Aerrow woke up and lifted his back slowly, then studied his surroundings. He noticed Finn pushing himself off the ground behind him and Radarr dizzily standing on all four legs.

"Okay, you're a great pilot, but your landing is just terrible..." - the blonde commented.

The red haired boy rolled his eyes. They both stood up and looked around, having no idea of where they were.

"I think we're on an uncharted terra or something. And still in Cyclonian territory." - Aerrow said upon noticing the prison mine in the distance, then proceeded to pick up the few things they had scattered around the ground.

"Aww... Then that escape was for nothing!" - the blue eyed guy complained as he did the same.

"Well... At least we're not stuck in that prison anymore. We should be grateful..." - he began, but trailed off when he saw the white hawk again, flying among the vegetation.

The bird looked at him then flew away, as if gesturing for him to follow it. He sprinted off without hesitating, venturing in the middle of the forest.

"Hey, wait up!" - Finn called him, and he and Radarr quickly went after him.

The green eyed boy chased the bird as fast as he could. He almost even caught it, but only earned a single feather, then he saw it fly up in the sky and circle the area, which was a very large clearing. He stared at it funny. What...? But then he heard the sound of something running towards him, and he knew it wasn't Finn or Radarr, because the noise was coming from another direction. He looked to the side and saw someone appear out of some bushes in the distance. The person didn't notice him, for they were staring upwards, at the white hawk. That stranger proceeded to walk carefully by a big tree trunk that served as a bridge between the area where they had come from and the clearing.

Aerrow's face lit up. There was somebody else in there! Maybe that person could help them! He dashed over to the bridge.

"Hey, you!" - he shouted as he quickly stepped on the tree trunk without any caution whatsoever.

"Huh?" - a girl said confused as she looked at where the voice had come from and saw a random guy running in her direction - "Wait! Don't...!"

That tree trunk was unstable! If that boy kept stomping on it like that it would...! And it happened. When Aerrow stepped in front of her, the trunk cracked between them, causing her to lose balance and begin to fall. He managed to grab her wrist, but that didn't help at all when the trunk shook and turned to the side a little, making both of them fall.

The red haired boy heard her scream helplessly below him, so he yanked her upwards by the wrist, causing him to be the one who'd hit the ground first. That hurt twice as much as it needed to, because not only he took all the damage of the fall, he had her land on top of him like a rock. Yeah, maybe he should just have pulled her closer instead of upwards. He winced in pain then glanced at whoever he was holding onto, but before he could even properly look at her, he saw the two halves of the tree trunk falling towards them!

He put an arm behind her back and another one behind her head, then pushed both to the side. They rolled about 180 degrees and fell on a small trench on the ground. The girl didn't feel the impact because he was protecting her with his arms, but she didn't realize that. She stared angrily at him, though she couldn't see his face yet. What was that guy doing?! If that maniac was attempting to get advantage of her somehow, he'd earn a good kick in the...! But then her eyes widened as she saw two huge tree trunks rolling by them and narrowly missing the two. Okay... He was just trying to fix the mess he had caused... Maybe he wasn't a crazy psychopath... And apparently he had even cushioned her back and her head. Yet... He was... Kinda... Heavy...

Aerrow observed as the two trunks rolled down the hill and finally stopped by another tree. Phew... That was close. But then he heard the person he had just saved wincing under him and felt her hands on his chest attempting to push him off her. Oh, Gosh! He was squishing her!

"I'm so sorry, I was..." - he began as he immediately stretched his arms to get off her when he managed to take a good look at her and froze.

It was only then that it finally sank in that she was a girl. She had dark skin, midnight blue hair and orange eyes. He felt the most intense déjà vu sensation ever. Not only she looked oddly familiar, even her surprised and confused expression reminded him of something... But what?

They just stayed like that for a moment, staring at each other. She was studying his behavior and mentally prepared herself in case he suddenly tried anything. He observed her features and swam in his thoughts, drifting to his own subconscious, in an attempt to piece things together.

The girl soon gave up on the idea that he was some insane pervert, he definitely looked harmless with those naïve and curious green eyes of his, almost like a little kid bedazzled by seeing something new for the first time. Then she noticed a small white feather stuck in his messy red hair. She reached an arm to pick it up and stared at it.

"A white hawk feather... Did you see it too?" - she asked him.

But he didn't reply. He didn't even flinch or remove his eyes off her face when she took the feather from his hair. She frowned and sighed. Well... That was starting to get awkward.

"Hm... Could you please...?" - she pushed him a little.

At that, he snapped out of his trance and backed away so fast it actually startled her. Yet, he still kept staring at her with the most surprised face in the world. She was starting to feel a little uncomfortable with that, until she heard a voice shouting and switched her attention to it.

"Aerrow!" - Finn jumped down from the edge of the clearing, Radarr following close behind - "You okay, buddy?"

The animal quickly sprinted to Aerrow and got there first, but when the blonde approached them, he saw the girl and halted his steps for a brief moment, a grin appearing on his face. She wore a yellow, blue and brown shirt, blue and brown gloves that covered only her middle and ringer fingers and reached up to her shoulders, light blue pants that ended right below her knees, brown boots, an orange hair band keeping her hair upwards and a silver bracelet on her left wrist. As the girl proceeded to push herself off the ground, he went closer to her and offered his hand.

"Allow me." - he grinned widely.

She glanced at him and the big smile on his face, then hesitantly took his hand.

"Thank you." - she said as she was helped up.

"Say, what's a girl like you doing in a big forest like this all alone?" - he spoke, trying to sound as cool as ever - "That's kinda dangerous."

"I... Crash landed here a while ago." - she told him.

"Ah... Same here. See? We already have something in common!" - he began as he approached her - "So... I was wondering, maybe we could..."

Wait... Was he flirting with her?! She caught on what he was attempting to do way sooner than he was expecting.

"Oh, no. No, no, no. Please don't." - she interrupted him as she took a step back, causing him to blink confused - "I'm so not in the mood for that. It's not gonna happen. Ever. So, please, don't even bother..." - she waved her hands in front of herself dismissively.

"Okay, okay, fine! Pretend I didn't say anything at all. Jeez!" - he crossed his arms a little annoyed as Aerrow perplexedly watched her walk away.

"Hey, wait!" - the red haired boy called, but before he could do anything, Finn stopped him.

"Dude, rule number 26: don't hit on girls that shut you down before you even finish talking. You really should listen to this one." - the blonde told him.

"What makes you think I was gonna do that?" - Aerrow asked him confused.

The blue eyed boy just shrugged.

"Hm... I don't know. Maybe because you haven't seen a girl in like what? A decade?" - he said, which made Aerrow glare at him - "Well, except for that one you told me about that's always on your mind."

The green eyed boy was about to retaliate and reinforce what he had already said to him in prison when it hit him. He blinked in realization.

"Finn... That was her." - he proceeded to run after her.

"Huh? Who?" - the blonde asked as he and Radarr followed him.

"What do you mean 'who'?" - Aerrow retorted as they took a few more strides, then came to a stop - "She's the girl I had told you about!"

"Oh... So _that's_ your dreamgirl." - Finn commented sounding quite suggestive - "Yeah... Guess she could be a catch for you... Alright, buddy, she's all yours. Go get her."

The red haired boy blinked and his eyes widened. Thank goodness she wasn't within hearing range!

"Knock it off..." - he furrowed his eyebrows awkwardly as he pushed the blonde's shoulder while the latter laughed, then he sprinted off.

"You can deny it now, but I bet you'll be all over her later." - he teased again as he followed after him, Radarr close behind.

They searched for the girl and didn't take too long to spot her again. She was standing near the edge of a small cliff, watching the sun rising with her arms crossed. A sad expression in her face.

"There she is!" - Finn pointed at her.

The boys and Radarr approached her. Aerrow reached out an arm to draw her attention, but once his hand touched her shoulder she backed away from him as if he had burned her. Both blinked surprised. He wondered why she was so startled like that. But soon she recovered her composure.

"Oh, it's you. Sorry..." - she apologized for her sudden reaction as she stared at the ground.

"Are you alright? Did you get hurt?" - he asked concerned.

"I'm fine." - she said - "You should be worried about yourself, since you took most of the fall."

"Uh, it's okay, I'm not injured." - he assured her - "I'm Aerrow. These are Finn and Radarr." - he gestured to the blonde and the animal behind him, the first giving off the impression he wasn't really that interested and the latter waved a front paw and chirped.

"I'm Piper." - she said hesitantly - "So you just got here. Guess you don't have any idea of what this place is either."

"No... We were hoping maybe we could all help each other out." - the red haired boy said - "We just escaped from a Cyclonian prison mine."

"Wait... So that was you?" - she blinked - "Last night I heard a loud earthquake and saw a building collapsing. I came here looking for survivors."

"Yep, that was us. We escaped with style." - Finn told her, but she didn't seem to care about the 'escaping with style' part - "How did _you_ get here, though?"

She looked away from them.

"I... I'd rather not talk about it. It's... Too personal." - she gripped her own arms tighter, feeling uncomfortable.

"That's fine, you don't have to say anything." - Aerrow dismissed Finn's question - "You don't look like a Cyclonian, so you must be running away from them just like us."

She nodded, confirming his observations.

"Well, I've walked around for a while now, and there's not much to see in this side of the terra." - she told them - "You should head to the other end if you wanna get out of here."

She then proceeded to walk away.

"Hey, aren't you going there too?" - the blonde asked.

"No... I mean... I will, just... Not right now." - she said - "Why don't you go ahead on your own? You'll be fine. There's nothing dangerous around here."

She entered the woods alone, but Aerrow was stubborn and decided to follow her. The other two were dragged along because of that, since if they didn't go after him, they'd get lost.

"But... We could help each other if we all traveled as a group." - he suggested.

"There's no need. I can take care of myself, if that's what you're worried about." - she guessed right off the bat, causing him to blink and frown awkwardly - "Plus, two boys like you won't have a problem surviving in here."

"Well, yeah, but..." - he simply couldn't find the right words, it was as if he were just looking for an excuse to have more time to know her - "Would you mind if we tagged along until we decide what we're gonna do next?"

She stopped, then looked at him in the eyes almost a little impatiently.

"It'll be for only one day, I promise." - he said, sounding like he was pleading.

She sighed.

"Okay... You may suit yourself. But only one day." - she told him, then she proceeded to walk again, but no longer in the fast pace she was walking before.

He smiled relieved. At least she had allowed them to stay just a little longer. After ten years of being shown her face in his dreams, it'd be really disappointing if he never got to know what she was all about. She stared at the ground as she walked. Sigh... She didn't want them to come along... It wasn't that they were a nuisance nor anything, it's just... She had gone through something terrible, and the wounds were still fresh in her mind. She didn't want to be reminded of that so soon... She was doing all she could to forget that. And with them around, she couldn't help but think about what had happened.

The group ventured into the forest, led by the girl. She had already let them tag along, so they might as well not bother her and just go the same way she was heading. After noticing how quiet that girl was, Finn started to think she was boring. Then he glanced at Aerrow. He had just been kidding about him being interested in her, but now it did look like the guy was really smitten with her! And he just couldn't get why. He rolled his eyes. Figures... She was the girl he had been dreaming about for ten years, after all. Man, he was so bored! He decided to find a subject to talk about.

"So... Ah, Piper. How long have you been here?" - he asked.

"In this terra? About a week." - she replied, not removing her attention from the path she was going through.

"How did you crash land here?" - the blonde questioned her.

"I had a small skyride I used to travel from terra to terra." - she explained - "It ran out of fuel and I got stuck here."

"And how long have you been living on your own?"

She hesitated for a moment. That wasn't exactly a personal question, but it almost got there.

"A few months, I guess." - she answered - "Uh... Enough about me. What about _you_?"

And now she'd never hear the end of it so soon. By seeing the slightest interest on him, Finn simply spent hours talking about himself and how cool he was. How he was a lady killer, a master mind in planning pranks, and had an excellent aim. While she honestly thought he was just a big loudmouth, she was glad the focus of the subject was on him, instead of her. The less she had to tell about herself, the better. Aerrow noticed that, but didn't mention anything about it.

She had quite the shell around herself. A big and thick barrier. He should go easy and... Try to get through it little by little. Until she actually felt like telling who she was and where she had come from on her own. But for that he'd have to earn her trust. He felt a little bit strange about that. He hadn't needed to work hard to get to know someone for over a decade... He didn't even care if they'd not speak to him, so he didn't know why he was even bothering with putting all that effort into that now. For some reason, this time things just felt... Different.

* * *

After a while the night took over the sky. The group had to stop to camp. They all worked together to fashion some improvised beds out of leaves, to fetch some food and water, and to light up a fire (thanks to a blazer Piper always had with her). They cooked some mushrooms and a few nuts, and ate some fresh fruits. And soon a few hours passed by.

Aerrow and Piper sat on rocks one in front of the other near the fireplace, with the girl using a stick to keep the flames alive. The air was quite cold, and their main source of heat was the small fire. Finn and Radarr were fast asleep, so it was the first time the two of them spent a moment alone. The red haired boy stared at her in thought.

The first thing that crossed his mind was how he had actually found her safe and sound, and not in danger like that urging sensation he had felt the night before the breakout had "predicted". After that, he started drawing a new conclusion: he wasn't supposed to save her from some danger, he was supposed to save her from herself. He was sure something had happened to her that made her shut in like that, and he felt like, in the end, he was actually supposed to help her overcome that, to stop her from hurting herself.

He wondered how he should begin. What he should ask. And as he swam in his subconscious, he didn't realize how intensely he was looking at her. After a while she noticed he kept staring at her non-stop, and that made her a little uncomfortable.

"Uh... Is there something wrong?" - she asked without making full eye contact.

"No, nothing at all. Why?" - the boy shrugged a little confused.

"Well, you... You're constantly looking at me, I thought..." - she trailed off.

"Hm? Oh, uh, sorry, I didn't mean to creep you out." - he quickly flit his eyes to the flames in front of him, then decided to hint at his question instead of being that direct - "It's just... You seem to be upset, so I was wondering what you've been through. Or if I could help you somehow."

The girl stared at him for a moment, then lowered her head again.

"You're right, but... I'd like to forget what happened... I hope you won't mind if I don't wanna talk about it." - she looked deeply into the flames - "Thanks for worrying, though. That's really kind of you, since I'm just a stranger. But I'll be fine. Besides, there's nothing that could be done about that anyways."

"It's okay, I don't wanna force you to talk." - he assured her - "And you're not a stranger, well, not anymore."

She looked back at him, and he could swear he saw a smile in her face, tiny and shy, but it was definitely a smile. Oh, a smile! And that was the first time he had seen it! He felt a warm feeling inside, and for some reason he just wanted to see a true smile from her, he simply had to.

"I hope you're alright." - he spoke, drawing her attention - "I mean, after that mess I caused back there, and I nearly squished you..." - he rubbed the back of his head with his hand awkwardly and rolled his eyes a little nervously - "I just want you to know that's not how I normally greet someone." - he closed his eyes and put his hands in front of himself dismissively of that idea.

At that, the girl couldn't hold her laughter. That boy really did have a good sense of humor! In dark times like those, being able to find something to laugh at was a virtue. And, unlike the blonde with his non-stop boasting, he humbly made fun of himself, just to lighten the mood and break the ice.

As for him, he just enjoyed every second of that moment. It went even better than he was expecting, because she didn't just smile, she laughed! Her giggles were like music to him, and her smile felt like the sun shinning its bright light everywhere. He knew it... She had a beautiful smile, and he had guessed it in advance. In the end, the white hawk did have a good reason to let him know he should go find her. She wasn't bad at all! She was... The very opposite of that! And for some reason he felt ashamed for ever thinking any differently about her.

"I'm fine." - she giggled - "And it's okay, I can see you're a nice person."

He grinned at her, then both stared at the flames once more. After a while hearing the crickets, he spoke again to break that silence.

"You look so much better like that." - he said quietly, without removing his eyes from the fireplace.

The girl immediately flit her eyes back at him, caught completely off guard.

"W-what?" - she asked almost like a whisper.

"I mean when you're laughing." - he told her as his eyes met her gaze - "You should do that more often. Your smile really suits you."

She blinked speechless, then shyly looked away, smiling in silent joy. It was hard to tell, thanks to the reddish light coming from the flames, but she might have blushed a little at his compliment. After having spent quite a while all alone, she was feeling really grateful for having someone to make her company, specially a gentle guy like him. He was being such a good friend to her.

A friend... Her mind sighed sadly. Just... What was she thinking now? She was doing so well on her own... She could take care of herself and she didn't need anyone's help. Yet... She was beginning to feel like... She wanted his presence. He was so friendly. So nice. Unlike her life which had been quite rough on her.

"We should sleep now." - she said as she stood up to lie on the improvised bed she had made for herself - "It'll be a long way until we get to the other side of the terra."

"Did you just say until _we_ get to the other side of the terra?" - he asked teasingly while he lied on his bed made of leaves as well - "I thought you said we could only tag along for one day."

Her eyes widened for a brief second.

"W-Well, I saw you guys weren't familiar with the area, so you'll need my help to get around. T-That's all." - she explained awkwardly, but that came out like an obvious excuse not to tell that, in truth, she actually _wanted_ them to tag along.

"Okay then, navigator." - he winked playfully, pretending he had believed in that, but she sensed that he had noticed her true feelings because of her behavior - "Good night."

"Good night." - she replied.

Both slept soundly. The stars watched over them during the night, so they'd all have sweet dreams. Those poor kids deserved some peace after all the things they had been through.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can view the comic version of this last scene [here](https://www.deviantart.com/123leyang321/art/Storm-Hawks-Fan-3rd-Season-Concept-Art-569974516).


	41. Episode 62 - Part 4

** Episode 62 - The Journey Begins **

**Part 4 - Storms of Life**

In the next morning, Aerrow woke up to see Piper wasn't there. He looked around frantically, but no sign of her. Darn it! She must have woken up way before them and left because they were slowing her down!

"Finn, Radarr! Wake up now!" - he shouted as he stood up.

The blonde lifted his back groggily and the animal looked even sleepier than him.

"Dude... Why are you shouting?" - he asked.

"I think Piper left us. I don't see her anywhere." - the red haired boy said.

"So what? She said we'd only stick for a day anyways." - the blue eyed guy laid down and turned to the other side.

Aerrow sighed impatiently.

"Last night she offered to help us navigate the forest today." - he explained.

"And I will." - her voice said.

The green eyed boy looked at her immediately and saw her coming with a bag of leaves full of fruits.

"Where were you? I thought you had left us for a second." - he asked.

And she frowned at that.

"Hey, I said I was going to help you, didn't I? I'd not leave after that..." - she told him, making it clear she'd never go back on her word - "I went to the forest to gather breakfast for you sleepy heads."

She placed the bag with fruits near the extinguished fireplace unceremoniously.

"Sorry. I just..." - he began.

"Eat as much as you wish, I'll be waiting over there." - she nodded towards an opening on the path that led to the edge of a small cliff.

Then she walked off. The boy watched her go and mentally slapped himself. Way to go, Aerrow! He had just offended her by pretty much claiming she wasn't trustworthy! And to think last night he was able to make her smile... Now she'd stay upset like that the whole day, unless he could figure out a way to get back on her good side.

He sat on a rock and took a bite of one of the fruits. And it tasted bitter in his mouth because of his own conscience eating at him. Ugh... Why couldn't he do it right? Why was he having so much trouble to get to know her better? And then he noticed: it was the first time in ages he was ever truly willing to struggle to get to befriend someone. At first, he thought he was just stalling for time and that things would eventually go smoothly, but now he found himself actually putting himself through a kinda complicated challenge. It felt strange for some reason.

"C'mon, guys. Wake up and eat already. We gotta move." - he told the others.

Finn and Radarr felt the sweet smell of the fruits and grabbed quite a nice amount of them.

"Did she get all these?" - the blonde asked, to which Aerrow nodded - "Heh, at least she actually knows how to pick the good stuff." - he commented as he took a bite of a really sweet berry.

Radarr agreed with that, he nodded smiling with his face and his front paws all covered in juice.

Soon they had finished eating, and the girl actually came back for them.

"So... Ready to go?" - she asked.

The three stood up and nodded, Finn and Radarr just smiled normally, while Aerrow stared at the ground in thought. During the rest of the day she didn't show signs of being upset. In fact, she was slightly more open than before and she willingly guided them through the dense forest, chatting with his two friends every once in a while, but still... He had to make sure she wasn't angry with him or something.

That night, when everyone was lying in their improvised beds and getting ready to sleep, the red haired boy was still sitting on the rock near the fireplace and staring at the sky. He thought of what to say, and tried to choose the best words.

"If you don't get to sleep, you'll be too tired tomorrow." - Piper said.

His eyes widened for a brief second. She did pay attention to his behavior, alright... Well, no turning back now.

"I know. I just... I'm sorry for what I said this morning. I didn't mean to upset you." - he apologized.

"It's okay. I know what you were really worried about. But it sounded like you didn't believe me." - she told him.

"Yeah... My bad." - he smiled sheepishly - "I guess you noticed I'm really awful at wording my thoughts." - he walked to his bed and laid down.

Him making fun of himself like that caused her to giggle, her mind deviating a little from the harsh events that had happened to her. She sat up and stared at the stars with a serious expression, the boys and the animal following suit, but looking at her a little curiously due to her sudden shift in mood.

"Have you... Ever wondered about what you'll do in the future?" - she asked them.

Aerrow stayed silent for a moment, but Finn was ready to speak up.

"Oh, I'm gonna be a rockstar!" - he said, gesturing to himself.

"Wait, didn't you want to be the best sharpshooter ever?" - Aerrow questioned him.

"Yeah, but being a rockstar has more benefits, like being way richer and having tons of fans." - he explained, to which Piper shook her head smiling.

Radarr decided he also wanted to talk about his plans, so he bounced a little on his knees to draw their attention. He moved his arms up and down, and then straightened his ears to the sides and made a motion as if he were holding the handles of a skimmer to explain his big dream. The others stared at him to figure out what he was trying to say.

"You want a chicken hot dog?" - Finn guessed, but the animal shook his head.

"You want wings? A glider?" - Aerrow tried, but, once again, Radarr shook his head, though he made a gesture indicating the boy wasn't that far off.

"You wanna fly a skyride?" - Piper attempted, and Radarr nodded excitedly.

"Really? Aren't you dreaming too small?" - the blonde was unimpressed.

Radarr just shrugged at that. Well, he was a simple little guy! Piper smiled at him. They all went silent for a brief moment. It was then Aerrow's turn.

"I once said I wanted to be a hero... But, that's so silly. It's not something you just... Become out of nowhere." - he said - "So now... I don't know what I'm supposed to do anymore."

"Hm... Being a hero is a pretty noble goal. You'd be helping those in need. I don't see how that's silly." - she commented - "As you help others, you'll eventually become a hero, right?"

"I guess so..." - he had to agree that made sense - "What about you?"

"Well... I've always wanted to explore the world and write down all my journey in a travel log. Study crystals so we can make the most of them. They're so fascinating." - she spoke about her desires - "And... I wish I could bring myself to have friends and a family again but... What's the point if all will be destroyed in the blink of an eye?"

"What do you mean?" - he questioned her.

"We're in the middle of a war... The whole world is involved. Why would I get close to other people if... If I'll lose them because of all this fighting?" - she stared at her feet with an upset expression.

He looked at the sky in thought. She had a rather valid point. He didn't even know what to say. But then, the blonde surprised them all.

"I guess because..." - he began - "We can't just live all alone forever. We need people."

The rest of them blinked. Who'd have thought Finn would have some wisdom to offer?

"Maybe..." - she said quietly.

Aerrow reached out with his arm and touched her shoulder for a moment. She nearly jumped at his touch, then she looked at him as he spoke.

"If one day you need someone... We'll be here for you." - he smiled at her.

She blinked surprised, then looked at Finn and Radarr who were also smiling comfortingly. Finally, she stared at her feet again.

"Thanks..." - she said.

"Well, let's get to sleep, now." - the blue eyed kid said.

Everyone laid down on their beds and made themselves comfy. The boys and the animal bid their good nights.

"Good night..." - Piper muttered in reply, and after a pause, she spoke again - "Guys?"

"Yeah?" - they asked in unison, while Radarr just chirped questionably.

"I... I'll be here for you too." - she told them, which made them grin at her, then exchange glances.

They all went to sleep. Piper appreciated the fact that they hadn't questioned her further when she mentioned how painful it was to lose people. And yet they were able to say comforting words to her anyways. She couldn't tell if they already guessed what she was really going on about or if that's what they'd have said no matter what. She thought Finn might not be that perceptive, whether due to lack of interest or because he was showing respect for her privacy she didn't know. Aerrow, however, was already onto her from the first night, which worried her a little. She wasn't ready to share her past yet. Though he did make sure he didn't want to pressure her into talking, as if he were saying he'd be there when she was indeed ready and didn't mind waiting. She eventually smiled softly, her mind was eased from her worries. She felt as if she was being somehow protected by them. Thanks to them she could sleep without having nightmares again.

* * *

By the morning, the red haired boy woke up very early, and he saw Piper had already left her bed. He looked at the mushrooms and fruits they had gathered the night before and concluded she hadn't gone after more supplies, since they still had plenty. But the thought that she might have left them didn't cross his mind. He didn't even want to consider that, after what had happened the day before...

Then he noticed a few fresh footprints she had left behind. They led to a small clearing nearby. He silently followed them until he sighted her sitting on the ground and watching the sunrise. Something caught his attention, though: she was holding a blue crystal in her hand and some strange mist came out of it, forming an image. It was too far away for him to properly see what it was, but apparently there were three people in that image, as if it was an old picture or something.

He then saw Radarr walk past him and towards the girl.

"Radarr, don't!" - he whispered as he reached an arm out, but the animal ignored him and went straight to Piper's side.

Darn it! He was gonna get caught! The small creature approached the girl and softly rubbed his head against her arm. She flinched slightly startled and immediately deactivated the crystal in the process, then she stared at Radarr and sighed relieved it was just him.

"You scared me, little guy." - she gently petted his head and he melted under her touch. Her skin was so soft!

She then noticed Aerrow standing there a few feet away from the corner of her eyes. She looked at him, then glanced once more at Radarr before turning to the boy.

"You're up earlier than normal. Sorry if I woke you up." - she apologized.

"No, no. I woke up on my own." - he said as he slowly approached her - "And I probably was the one who woke up Radarr. Finn is still asleep, though. It should be a while until we get going."

"Right..." - she spoke quietly, then looked at the sun appearing from behind the trees again.

"Hey, are you okay?" - he sat beside her, with Radarr between the two, studying her with a concerned expression. The little animal sharing his worry as well.

"I'm fine..." - she lowered her head as she petted the creature's head once more, then moved her hand away to rest on her lap, her fingers intertwined with her other hand - "Aerrow... Can I ask you something?"

"Sure." - he shrugged.

"What was it like to live in that prison mine you guys came from?" - she asked as she clenched her hands a little.

"It was pretty rough... We worked a lot, the food was awful, and the cells weren't any better either." - he told her, and Radarr whimpered in agreement at the thought of those memories - "Hard to believe I put up with that for ten years..."

"You've been there for ten years?" - she said in disbelief, to which he nodded - "It must've been terrible."

"Yeah... But I actually got used to it for the most part, to be honest." - he commented as he looked at the sky.

"Then why did you suddenly decide to run away?" - she asked, neither of them aware Radarr had just left to give them more space.

"Well, besides finally getting sick of that place, I knew that if I didn't get out, I'd never be able to meet you." - he smiled a little while still staring at the sunrise.

She blinked and raised an eyebrow at that.

"What do you mean?" - she questioned him.

"When I was running away during the invasion in my home terra, a white hawk appeared and showed me a vision of someone: it was you." - he explained as he looked back at her - "After that I was caught and sent to the prison. I thought I was supposed to go look for you one day, so I used the first chance to escape that presented itself."

"So you were captured because of that vision?" - she commented as she hugged her own arms - "I... Didn't you get mad at that? And... At me too? I mean, I'd expect you to think I was the reason you got caught."

"I have to say I was, at first." - he admitted, causing her to rub her arms uneasily - "But as the years went by... I realized thinking of you brought me comfort, as if you were watching over me and trying to help me. I was actually glad I was shown that vision and didn't want it to go away anymore." - he smiled at her.

She stared at him speechless. It was truly impressive how he had gone from most likely hating her to desiring her company. She could feel he was doing everything to become closer to her. To become... Her friend. Maybe even a best friend or something.

"How come you just changed your mind like that?" - she asked.

"Well, you had nothing to do with what happened to me, so I shouldn't be blaming you for anything. And then, I came to think the white hawk must've had a good reason, like it was all meant to happen." - he told her - "After all, people rarely ever see a white hawk, much less get shown visions."

"I guess so. We did see it before we met." - she noticed - "So... You think it was destiny or something?"

"Maybe, I don't know." - he said shrugging - "But one day we'll find out."

They'd... Find out... She looked at the sun in front of them. Yeah... Maybe one day... She smiled. She could say she was happy for having met him too. For some reason, she felt that she could trust him. But still... Her mind told her to keep her distance, so she'd not suffer again.

Finn slowly woke up from the noise of their chatter. He stared at them sitting near the cliff and frowned. Aerrow was certainly spending a lot of time with that girl. Like she had become his new focus. He had managed to overhear a little bit of their talk two nights ago and seeing them there now, he couldn't help but feel left behind. His thoughts were interrupted by a very big insect flying very close to his head.

"Ah! Giant wasp! Get off me! Ouch!" - he screamed from their arranged camp, causing the other two to look at him startled - "Great, this is gonna sting... Oh, man, my hair got all messed up!"

Aerrow and Piper saw the blonde with leaves stuck in his head, then exchanged glances and laughed a little. Well, it was time for them all to go. They had stayed long enough in one place already. Soon they had packed up what they'd take with them and left the area.

* * *

A while later, they were walking among the trees and found a very big clearing near the edge of the terra.

"Are we there yet?" - Finn asked.

"No. There's a very large river cutting through most of the terra. The water current is too strong, so I had us go around it." - the girl explained - "If we keep following the edge, we'll get to the other side in a few days."

"You gotta be kidding, why did we have to go the long way?" - he complained.

"Because it's the _only_ way." - she said as she picked up a long branch - "Unless you wanna swim across this."

She pushed some of the vegetation aside, so they could all take a look at the river. She tossed the branch in the water and it was mercilessly dragged away, hitting several rocks on the way and even breaking in half before it disappeared in the water. The blonde grimaced at that.

"Ah, nope. I'm cool." - he quickly replied nervously - "Your way is easier anyways."

Radarr and Aerrow smiled knowingly at each other. They all kept walking along the edge of the terra. It was quite risky, since if any Cyclonian troops decided to go after Aerrow and Finn, the group would be spotted, but so far there was no sign of them, so the kids could relax a little. That was... Until things turned around completely by the end of the day.

The sky darkened a lot in a few minutes and the wind was picking up velocity at a scarily quick way. A storm was building up extremely fast. Aerrow, Finn and Radarr were gathering stuff to make a camp when they noticed the sky was very dark already and several stormy clouds covered any source of light. The red haired boy looked around to find a shelter.

"There! A cave!" - he pointed at a small opening on a rock, then he noticed Piper wasn't anywhere near them - "Where's Piper?"

"She went to the cliff not too long ago." - Finn replied, nodding towards her general direction.

To the cliff? Oh! She was probably doing the same thing she had been doing when he found her that morning. But that wasn't the time! It was too dangerous to stay outside the forest, especially hanging out near the edge of the terra!

"Okay, you guys go to the cave now. I'll bring Piper back." - Aerrow told them and sprinted off.

The two followed his advice and bolted towards the cave, bringing the leaves and branches they had gathered with them, the blonde cast a glance behind him at his friend entering the thick forest and frowned a little. The green eyed boy got to the edge of the terra and searched for the girl: he sighted her sitting on a piece of terrain that was hanging out of the main structure of the terra. What in the world was she doing?! Hadn't she noticed how the weather had changed?!

She stared sadly at a blue crystal in her hand that released some mist, showing an image of three people. She sighed deeply, a feeling of longing consuming her heart. But then she was interrupted by a voice.

"Piper! We have to go back to the forest now!" - the boy shouted.

"Huh?" - she then looked at the sky and saw all the dark stormy clouds right above them.

Suddenly, the rain started pouring down and the wind blew against them mercilessly. She had to put more effort than she expected to stand up because of the storm. Aerrow had almost reached her when a very strong gust of wind blew in front of him and towards her, pushing her off the terra.

She screamed frightened as she was dragged away by the wind. The red haired boy immediately leaped once and landed on the ground, grabbing her wrist with one hand before she could fall. He used all of his strength to hold his ground, planting his free hand firmly in the grass so he'd not be going anywhere so soon. Yet, it didn't mean he didn't have to worry anymore. The wind would eventually get stronger, and even he wouldn't be able to withstand it. And on top of all that, her hand was starting to slip because they were both soaked.

Then he noticed the only reason she'd not grab his arm with both hands was because she was holding that blue crystal in her other hand. Not only that, but she seemed to be focusing on holding it with all her strength, instead of attempting to use him as support to get back to the ground.

"Piper! Let go of that crystal! I can't pull you back if you keep holding onto it!" - he told her.

"What?! I'm not gonna throw it away!" - she shouted at him.

"It's only a crystal! We can find another one just like it!" - he tried to find a reason for her to get rid of that shinning stone.

"No, we can't! That's impossible!" - she said.

Then they heard the sound of thunder. The rain was pouring down faster than before, and the wind was becoming stronger.

"The storm is getting worse! If I don't pull you now, we'll both get dragged away!" - he spoke.

"But...!" - she tried to explain.

"What's more important, Piper?! Our lives or some crystal?!" - he asked her.

She blinked in shock at the question. He had a point but... How could she just...? He stared desperately into her eyes, his gaze urging her to make up her mind. She closed her eyelids painfully and opened her other hand, letting the crystal go. After that she moved her now free hand forward to grab his arm. When he felt she had a good hold of it, he used all his strength to push himself up and then backwards, causing both to land on the ground. They held onto each other firmly and used their combined weight as their stand.

The two waited for the right moment: in the split second the wind faltered a bit, they quickly ran towards the forest. They managed to make it in time before the rain poured down all its fury on them. They reached the cave and there the group waited in a rather awkward silence until the storm ceased.

* * *

A few hours later, the rain had stopped completely and the wind was nothing more than a breeze. The entrance to their cave had been completely blocked by a mess of leaves and branches that had gotten tangled on each other during the storm. Aerrow, Finn and Radarr pushed against that huge ball of random vegetation until they opened a hole big enough for them to crawl out.

The first one who walked outside was Finn, so he could remove a few branches and leaves from that side. Right after, Piper got out. She stood in front of the cave and looked around frantically, then, not one second later, she bolted towards the edge of the terra.

"Hey! Where are you going?!" - the blonde asked, and she didn't even look back at him.

Then, Aerrow stepped outside and immediately ran after her.

"You too?!" - Finn questioned him, but he didn't answer - "Why is everyone ignoring me?!"

The nerve of them! He had to do all the work to fix their camp now! Next time he'd be the one chilling out and taking a look at the view! And that Aerrow... Only thinking about that girl all the time. That was starting to get on his nerves now.

The girl sprinted through the forest, her heart racing inside her chest. C'mon! She had to try to find it! Maybe it had landed on the terra! She just... Didn't want to lose that crystal forever! And not far behind was Aerrow, following after her. He was worried about what she was attempting to do, so he thought he should be there just in case. They got to the edge of the terra, and Piper stopped to look around. She searched for any sign of the crystal until she saw something shining in the bottom of a small cliff nearby. There!

She ran up to the cliff and started to climb down without a second thought. The boy's eyes widened in worry and he went after her. Both managed to reach the bottom without any problems, and the girl quickly knelt near the crystal. She pushed a rock that was blocking her view aside, then gasped at the sight: the crystal was completely shattered into several pieces!

"Oh, no! My crystal!" - she was alarmed as she tried to put the pieces back into place, but obviously that didn't help at all - "No, no... It can't be... It's... It's...!"

"Piper, what's wrong?" - Aerrow asked, then he noticed the destroyed crystal and frowned.

"My... My crystal is... No, no, please, no..." - she put her shaking hands in front of her mouth - "I... I can't believe this happened!"

"It's okay, Piper. We can go look for another one." - he tried to reassure her, but that only made things worse.

She shook her head.

"No, we can't. I told you that was impossible, Aerrow. You don't understand..." - she said without removing her eyes from the broken pieces.

"Why not? There must be plenty of that one somewhere." - he suggested as he looked around.

She clenched her hands into fists.

"You just don't get it, do you?!" - she snapped at him, causing him to flinch - "There's not another crystal like this one in the whole world! Do you even know what crystal is this?!"

"Uh... No, I-I guess not." - he said kinda taken aback.

"It's a memory crystal. It stores one event in a person's life so you can always remember through it." - she told him - "That crystal... Was the only thing I had left of my family..."

Aerrow blinked surprised. He remained silent as she had demonstrated she was going to tell him her story.

* * *

"A few months ago, I was in my home terra, exploring and searching for crystals like I always used to."

_Piper was walking carefully on a path on the edge of the terra. She reached out with an arm and pulled out a red crystal from a wall._

_"Ah, another blazer! That's what I needed!" - she smiled._

_The girl ran back towards her house excitedly, she couldn't wait to test out a new trick she had been working on in the past weeks._

"I liked practicing with them a lot, to get good at the art of the crystal mastery. But many feared it, because it could be dangerous. My parents were two of those. I got in an argument with them that day."

_The blue haired girl stood in her front yard and tried to focus on the few blaze crystals she had laid around. She was attempting to make them float, but instead, she ended up activating them. She gasped as the flames enveloped her in seconds, and right before they could injure her, her father stepped in and used an icer to take out the fire._

_He had dark skin, midnight blue hair and dark purple eyes. He wore a brown shirt, blue pants and gray shoes._

_"Piper! Are you okay?" - he asked concerned as he rushed to her and studied her condition carefully._

_"I'm fine, it was nothing." - she smiled sheepishly._

_"What did you think you were doing?! You almost hurt yourself!" - he scolded her - "You'll be forbidden from messing with crystals from now on!"_

_"What?! But, father, it was only an accident! It won't happen again!" - she pleaded with him._

_"No buts, young lady!" - her mother appeared - "Today you were lucky your father intervened before it was too late. Next time, an accident could severely injure you!"_

_The woman was slightly tanned, with brown hair and orange eyes. She wore a beige shirt, a red long skirt and brown shoes._

_"Mother!" - the girl realized both her parents were against her._

_"It's about time you stopped being foolish!" - her father shouted - "From this day on you'll study cartography, like our family's been doing for generations! And that's final!" - he said as he crushed one of her blazers with his foot._

_The girl frowned as she shook her head._

_"Why don't you ever let me pursue my dream?! You never accepted it!" - she said as she ran away from them._

_Her parents watched her go with upset expressions and exchanged glances. They knew they were being quite harsh with her, but it was for her own good. People actually died when trying to master the dangerous art of the crystals. They only wanted to protect her. She had to understand that..._

_Piper ran into the woods near her house and didn't look back. She kept going until she found a small cave where she used to hide the rarest of her crystals. She picked up some of them and sat on the ground, meditating._

"I was so angry at them, that I spent the rest of the day practicing alone where they'd not be able to find me. And it was then that it happened..."

_After quite a while, the sun was starting to set. The girl hadn't gone back to her house yet, and her parents were starting to get worried about her. She sighed as she finally finished her practice, when she heard the sound of several engines coming closer._

_There were hundreds of Cyclonian skyrides flying over the terra. It was an invasion! The switchblades shot mercilessly at the small village from Piper's home terra. All the people ran around like crazy, attempting to avoid the blasts. The whole terra actually shook when the battle ship shot at it with all its canons at the maximum power._

_They weren't trying to capture anyone. They were killing everybody to conquer the area alone! The girl tried to head back to her village quickly, but it was quite the walk. She hoped her parents would still be alive. She ran as fast as she could, but when she finally arrived, the whole place was already in ruins and the Cyclonian fleet was moving on to the nearest terra in the quadrant, after judging that small terra useless for them._

_Piper dashed over to her house and there she found both her parents had died because the rumble of the house had fallen on top of them, burying them in there. She gasped in horror at the sight of their lifeless hands that had been attempting to hold each other one last time along with two broken candles and a nearly destroyed picture of herself, as if they were praying for her safety when they died. And indeed, they had put a protection charm on her, since she was literally the only survivor and to her luck the Cyclonians hadn't bombarded the woods she had been at. She fell to her knees, sobbing a lot. Two ghostly hands appeared and held her shoulders, but she was too consumed by her sadness to notice. Though she very slowly started to feel more comfortable._

"I knew there was another terra not too far from my home that'd take me in as a refugee. But I just couldn't depend on anyone anymore... So I decided to take charge of my life and travel alone instead."

_A while later, she had packed up a few things and used a skyride that hadn't been severely damaged in the invasion to leave the terra. She held a blue crystal in her hand as she sadly glanced behind her at her destroyed home._

* * *

Back in the present, Aerrow and Piper were kneeling near the shattered crystal in the bottom of the cliff.

"I never imagined that one day I'd lose my parents like that... Right after having an argument with them." - she said - "And to make things worse, I didn't even have the chance to apologize or tell them that I loved them just one last time... Now... The only thing I had left of them is destroyed..." - she paused for a moment - "Just like my hopes of this war ever ending."

"I'm sorry for your loss, Piper. If I had known..." - he frowned in sympathy.

But she noticed something in his voice. There was something lacking...

"Aerrow... You told me your home terra was invaded when you were just a child." - she began - "But the way you said that was like it didn't matter to you at all."

He suddenly felt like he was cornered by what she had said.

"Well, I... It's been ten years... I think I'm over it now." - he spoke, trying to justify himself.

"So you're simply over it? Recalling that doesn't make you sad?" - she asked - "How do you do this?"

"I think I just... Moved on and forgot it." - he shrugged - "I can't spend my whole life dwelling on that."

"I guess not..." - she lowered her head.

"I-I mean, I have to keep going, right? To live my life." - he tried to explain his point.

"Then tell me one thing: are you truly living or just surviving?" - she questioned him.

He blinked. He honestly didn't know how to answer that. There really wasn't anything he could say. It did seem like he didn't care about that. And... He admitted she had seen through him. He... He was unable to feel sad about what had happened to him. Even when thinking about the worst things he could remember... He didn't even flinch. Not anymore. And because of that, how could he ever tell someone he understood how they felt? Sympathy coming from him just felt... Ironic.

He noticed she was shaking a little, trying to fight back her tears.

"Piper, I..." - he attempted to think of anything to say to comfort her, but he somehow knew his words wouldn't mean much.

"I'm sorry... I need sometime alone." - she said as she shakily stood up, trying to hide her tears, and ran away.

She didn't want him to see her crying like that. She didn't want to show him her fragile side. He was such a strong person. Even if... Even if he had gone the wrong way about that... At least he didn't let his past get the best of him and slow him down. So who should be the one ashamed of their own attitude after all?

He watched her go, and for the first time in several years, he felt a lump in his throat and a throbbing pain in his chest. He could actually say that... Seeing her running away from him was like having his heart shred to pieces by thousands of knives.

He reflected about what she had said to him. What was he now? A human or a machine? He knew he wasn't living... He didn't act like a normal person. He... He didn't have real feelings towards anything... He was... Like an empty shell. His eyes fell to the crystal shards. He stared at them intensely for a moment, then he glanced at the general direction Piper had ran to with a determined look. Maybe it was time to start caring for real...

* * *

Aerrow had picked up the crystal shards and taken them all with him back to the cave. When he walked by Finn and Radarr, they noticed he had a completely different mood.

"Hey, what happened? And where did Piper go?" - the blonde asked.

"Nothing. She just needs sometime alone." - he summed up and knelt near his improvised bag of supplies.

"What's going on with you two?" - he inquired.

"Nothing, Finn, nothing. Just be quiet for a minute, I need to think." - the red haired guy replied a little annoyed at Finn's constant questioning. He didn't have the time or the mind to fill him in right now.

He secretly packed the shards up in his bag, so he could figure out a way to fix that crystal later.

"Okay, I'm already fed up with you now." - the blue eyed boy suddenly snapped and stood up, which caused the other two to stare at him with weirded out expressions - "You think you can keep me in the dark? When you went out there, Radarr and I had to keep the shelter together by ourselves! We were almost dragged by the storm too, all because you just had to go after some girl you've known for a few days. But do you even care? No, because she's more important, huh?"

"What?! As if I haven't risked mine and Radarr's lives to save yours." - Aerrow responded angrily as he also stood up and walked towards the blonde - "Maybe I should have left you behind when we escaped the prison mine, then. How does that sound for uncaring now?"

"That's different! We've known each other for years! Didn't you say we were best friends?! Now you act like you'd easily choose this girl over me!" - Finn grabbed him by the collar - "You're a traitor!"

"Don't you ever call me that again!" - the redhead yelled as he pushed the boy to the ground.

He blinked, though, he didn't really mean to do that, but one thing he hated more than anything was having his loyalty questioned. Yet, the blue eyed kid didn't take that lightly, so he quickly got up and threw himself at Aerrow. The little animal watched as the two boys fought, exchanging punches and grappling one another. That was probably the only fight he didn't know whether to intervene in Aerrow's favor or not, since Finn did have a solid point in his argument. He thought it'd be better if he let them settle that on their own.

However, the fight had a different turn of events when Piper stepped inside the cave without being noticed and got caught up in the middle of it. The green eyed boy was swinging a punch right when the girl entered and the blonde dodged out of the way. Before his fist would connect with her, though, he stopped himself dead on his tracks. He ended up forgetting about the fight as he quickly checked on her to see if he had hurt her, and while he was relieved she was unscratched, he had lowered his guard, which allowed Finn to pull him away and punch him to the ground. Before the blue eyed kid could engage on the fight again, the girl stepped on the way.

"Stop this!" - she shouted - "What's going on here?"

The blonde glared at Aerrow one last time, then finally answered her question.

"Nothing anymore. About time we grouped up again." - he said simply - "I got us some more food." - he nodded at an improvised bag with mushrooms and fruits - "You can eat up, I've had my share already." - he eyed Aerrow when saying the last part and, with that, he walked out of the cave.

The redhead observed him go in silence, then started pushing himself off the ground. Well, everything was just falling apart around him, wasn't it?

* * *

Grimsley and a few other boys were heading to a hangar bay. They hoped to be getting brand new switchblades or heliblades, but instead, they got helibicycles. They were suddenly approached by a talon.

"You got a new member on your group." - he gestured to someone as he stepped to the side - "He just signed up, but he proved valuable quickly."

The group looked skeptical until they laid eyes on a wallop that was walking towards them. He had grayish green hair, gray eyes, tanned skin and wore a gray and brown shirt, with a gray and red jacket with the Cyclonian emblem, brown and gray fingerless gloves, a gray and golden belt and dark beige pants with knee protections. He smiled and waved shyly as the others just stared him down for a moment. Yep, he'd definitely be an asset. Although he seemed to be a weakling with his modest personality, he could wreak quite the havoc, even if unintentionally, with all that strength. And he did look like one who'd easily take orders, bossing him around would be a piece of cake. The fat boy smirked.

"Hi, I'm Junko." - the big guy introduced himself.

"Grimsley." - the kid responded - "Welcome to the team. I'll be your new boss."

He didn't waste a second laying down the rules about who answered to whom. The squadron saluted, then soon all headed out on their new skyrides and disappeared in the clouds. They'd have to prove themselves in a few missions in order to become actual talons.

 


	42. Episode 62 - Part 5

 

 

 

**Episode 62 - The Journey Begins**

**Part 5 - Home, Sweet Home**

Aerrow stood up and dusted his clothes off as Piper approached him.

"What happened? Why were you two fighting?" - she asked.

"We... Have something to settle." - he tried to explain - "I'll sort it out with him eventually."

She lowered her head.

"I just hope I'm not in the way." - she said.

"No, of course not." - he assured her - "I'll go talk to him and everything will be fine."

"If you say so..." - she walked to a corner of the cave and sat there silently.

Grr... Why did Finn have to do that?! Throwing a hissy fit out of nowhere and then storming away! That guy just didn't get all that was at stake and how he put things at an even bigger risk now! Sigh... Then again, he'd not understand... Aerrow glanced at Radarr, who watched him worriedly. Not even the little animal would... At least, not yet. He himself didn't fully comprehend what was going on inside his head, someone else would never guess his thoughts...

But none of that mattered now. He just... Needed to set things right with Piper and Finn. And he knew that if he didn't figure something out soon, he'd be committing one of the worst mistakes of his life: he'd be letting them go. Ending a friendship that lasted for years with a stupid fight and also cutting a new one short before even finding out why they were supposed to meet in the first place.

He walked out of the cave and stood a few steps away from the entrance, trying to find out which direction Finn had gone to. Radarr approached him with a concerned expression. The animal churred softly, as if he were asking if everything was okay. The boy looked at his friend, who had been with him for quite a few years already. He sighed.

"I've got two big problems here, buddy. There's Finn who thinks that I'm leaving him behind and ignoring our friendship... And there's Piper... I guess she and I got off to a rough start... I didn't think things could get this bad. I don't know why I'm having so much trouble figuring her out..." - he admitted, then he petted the creature's head - "Well, I'll find a way of setting things right again, I promised we'd all stick together. Finn and I have been friends for a long while now, and Piper... There was an important reason for us to meet. So I can't just let her go like that either, right?"

Radarr nodded and chirped in agreement. That girl was definitely special, the little animal could sense that when she was around. His boy couldn't let her get away! They'd need each other in the future, he just knew that! And the blonde? Well, he wasn't that bad. He did remain there when they needed, and he was a really good friend, even with all his bad habits.

The little guy sniffed the air and found Finn's scent. He pointed at his direction, to help Aerrow find where he was later.

"Thanks, Radarr." - the boy said - "I'll just go check on Piper before going after him."

He walked by the entrance and saw the girl didn't move from her sitting position by the corner of the cave.

"Aren't you gonna eat?" - he asked as he picked up a fruit and offered it to her.

He felt a little concerned about her health. In that state of depression, she should at least take a bite of one of the fruits or she'd end up starving herself. Yet, she closed her eyes and shook her head.

"No, thanks. I'm not hungry..." - she said quietly as she stared at the ground sadly.

The boy frowned at that, but didn't feel like pushing the food into her. She'd eat if she wanted to. He studied the berry in his hand for a moment. Yeah... He wasn't hungry at all either, in fact, if he ate that fruit, he'd probably feel sick. His stomach just couldn't take it right now. He gave it to Radarr, and the little animal bit it gratefully.

The two teenagers remained silent for the next few minutes. The girl would stare at the ground non-stop, shyly playing with her fingers. She felt the most strange void inside her ever since that incident. And she wasn't even entirely sure of the real reason she felt that way: the shattered memory crystal or... The fact that she might lose the closest thing to a friend she had.

But she wasn't the only one in that situation. Aerrow had it pretty bad for himself as well. He felt like nothing. He wanted to do something to help her, but it was simply impossible. It wasn't like he could bring her parents back from the dead. Sigh... He couldn't even figure out a way of fixing the crystal! He barely knew a thing or another about crystals... Much less how to fix one. He had a hunch that she knew what to do, but he was afraid of asking her. It'd be like telling her to solve her problems herself. So he decided he'd find that out on his own later.

"Well, I'll go get Finn to come back. It's getting dark now, so we better wait until tomorrow morning to move." - he told her, to which she nodded.

The boy quickly dashed to where the blonde was: sitting near the edge of a small cliff, watching the sunset. Finn didn't look behind him, but he knew Aerrow was there.

"What do you want now?" - he asked as if he had little to no interest in being disturbed by the redhead.

"Listen. I'm not trading you away as a friend, I'd never do that and you know it." - the green eyed kid began - "I've been with Piper these days because she's in need of someone. She... She told me she lost her family to the Cyclonians not too long ago. And it was right after a fight between them. She never had the chance to apologize and see them one last time. So she's suffering a lot."

At that, Finn frowned. Wow... That was... Terrible... It felt even worse than what he had been through, because at least he was on perfect terms with his parents when the invasions began.

"And now she just lost the only thing she had left of her family, because of me." - he continued - "I wanted to make it up to her."

"I had no idea..." - the blonde began, then he suddenly felt sad and guilty, especially because he remembered some harsh remarks of his in the argument they just had, so he turned to the boy - "Hey, you... Don't tell her what I said earlier, okay? I didn't mean it like that."

"I know you didn't." - Aerrow said - "I'm sorry for leaving you in the dark. Now you know the truth and why I wanna help her."

"I was being selfish too, sorry. I was angry I was being replaced as your best friend, but... She does need you more than I do. Besides, you technically knew her longer than me, even if not in person." - the blue eyed boy shrugged - "So go ahead and be the best friend ever to her. One day I'll find my own."

The redhead smiled at his understanding, but one thing still bothered him with that phrasing, so he had to be sure of one last thing.

"We're still friends, though, right?" - he asked expectantly.

"Of course." - Finn grinned - "Once pals, always pals. You don't forget that."

"I won't." - the boy reached with his arm and both gave each other a "bro shake" of hands.

"By the way, I'm still keeping that bet. I know I'll win it eventually." - the blonde said smugly.

Aerrow just rolled his eyes and shook his head amused. At last, their friendship had settled where it should be. They'd always be friends, maybe not best friends ever, but definitely good pals that'd always be there for each other.

* * *

A while later, they were all set to move again. But the party didn't feel the same way as before. It felt uncomfortable, almost awkward, for the group to be around each other. They were all quiet, and they moved quite fast, but it was as if each one had their own pace and didn't care at all about the others, because they were all too busy with themselves. That's not how a family group should behave. Family... Were they even anything like a family to begin with?

Aerrow glanced at the other three. C'mon... He had spent a while with them, they had to mean something to him. And... Maybe him to them. Well, Radarr was definitely his pal. The little guy stared at him with a loyal gaze. Yeah... The two of them hadn't ever separated since they've met. And they've always been there for each other.

Finn... He could be selfish and even annoying sometimes, but he still cared. He'd not leave a friend in need behind. The blonde confirmed that as he looked back at Aerrow. They silently apologized once again for any bad attitude they had towards each other in the last days as they smiled warmly. People go through rough moments and they can get a little edgy, but that doesn't mean all can't be forgiven.

And Piper... He hadn't known her for that long, well, in person, that is, but he knew she already meant something to him. Coming to think of it, she was the very first person that made him even consider the concept of things having a meaning at all, when she had asked him whether he was living or surviving. He had forgotten what that was about, after so many years locking his emotions inside a cage deep in his subconscious. And she appeared to make him finally understand that his feelings were important. They made him into who he truly was. And for the first time, he wanted to show his true face.

The girl, on the other hand, walked with her eyes downcast. And she was thinking a little bit differently. The guys were dealing with the hard life so well, while she was nearly breaking. She felt... Pathetic, compared to them. They were strong and didn't let anything shake their will to keep living. Her? She kept dwelling on the past, letting her pain and sorrow drag her down. But... She just didn't know what to do to get rid of those awful feelings.

They all got to what seemed to be a village. It was completely deserted, and some more fragile buildings were almost falling apart, though there were some pretty fresh fruits in a few boxes that gave away the place had been occupied not too long ago.

"Do you think the Cyclonians came here?" - Finn asked.

Piper shook her head.

"No. There aren't signals of struggle. This place was abandoned." - she said.

"Makes sense." - Aerrow commented - "This terra is right next to the Cyclonian mines. Their army could be here at any moment, especially after the breakout."

"When we crashed we could still see the mines from here. How come they haven't got here yet?" - the blonde questioned.

"I guess it's because the terra is in a blind spot behind the mines. It stands lower than the cloud's level, so it's like we're camouflaged." - the girl explained.

"So... You think everyone left?" - the blue eyed boy guessed, which made the others look at him questionably - "I mean, because if they did, there must be a ship or a dock somewhere around here, right?"

"You're right. We should scan the area for supplies and then find where the dock is." - the red haired boy said.

The four split up. Finn decided to look over beyond the abandoned village, so he'd spot the docks in advance. Aerrow, Piper and Radarr searched through the village, each going to one place specifically: the animal crawled among the rubbles of a fallen building, since he'd be the only one able to fit in there; the girl headed for what used to be a market, to look for food or other useful supplies; and the boy went to the remains of a warehouse, in search of tools and any material that could be of use later.

There he found quite a few things that drew his attention: a few knives and grinders, sharpening stones and stone carving tools. He also found some ropes and lots of linen cloth. All that stuff lying around gave him an idea. At first, he thought it was probably the silliest idea ever... It wasn't like he was any good at handcrafting... But it was worth a shot. He just had to try.

He selected a few of the tools and packed them up, shoving them in his improvised bag without anyone noticing. Then he quickly looked for some material so he'd not come back to the others seemingly empty handed. They all met up at the top of a hill nearby, where Finn had called them.

"So, what did we get here?" - the blonde asked.

"A few fruits, spices and non-perishable ingredients." - the girl lifted a bag with what she found in front of her.

"A bunch of tools and material. I had to choose only a few, or we won't be able to carry this." - the green eyed boy said as he held a crate with several different things inside.

Radarr showed his findings too. He had actually managed to gather coins! Real copper coins! It was incredible how he had found money in the middle of the rubble! It wasn't that much, but still, it was almost enough to buy something useful.

"Good thing you found this, Radarr. I overheard that a cargo ship is coming tomorrow by midday." - Finn told them as he pointed a thumb towards the docks.

"I don't know if that money can afford enough passages." - Piper said - "I'd say it could buy two at most..."

"So that means we can't all go...?" - the blue eyed boy's shoulders fell.

"Maybe not like passengers. But we still could sneak into the cargo hold." - Aerrow suggested.

It wasn't the most righteous thing to do, but if they wanted to stick together, they'd have to go through with it.

"No... You don't have to do this." - the girl spoke - "Just go without me."

"What? Why are you saying that?" - the red haired boy asked.

"It's not fair that you should travel clandestinely because of me." - she told them, her eyes downcast - "The money Radarr found can pay two passages. You've known each other for years, while I've just... Tagged along for the last few days. You should take that chance, don't bother trying to find a way for me to come."

"Piper... We know you for long enough to consider you a friend. You're a part of the group." - he tried to persuade her, but it was to no avail.

"No, I don't belong here... I won't be a burden." - she said - "I'll stay for the night to bid farewell in the morning. It's the least I can do after you've made me company."

She walked away, looking for a place where they all could camp at. The two boys and the animal watched her go. Finn and Radarr exchanged upset and unsure glances, while Aerrow kept staring at her with an unreadable expression. He clenched his fist. That was it! He couldn't take that anymore! How could she say she didn't belong there?! After what she had made him realize, he didn't even know how to thank her... He couldn't let her think like that... He didn't want her to turn into the soulless machine he had become. That's not living... That's not how anyone should spend the rest of their lives. And he had to let her know that.

That night, while everyone was asleep, Aerrow woke up and picked up his improvised bag with the crystal shards and the stone carving tools. He stealthily made his way to a small clearing nearby. He set a piece of cloth on the ground and placed all the tools on it. Then he studied the shards. Well, he better test his abilities with something else first.

He grabbed a small rock on the ground and proceeded to work on it. After a little while, he managed to get quite a decent result on his first try. But still, that was a rock, he didn't know what a crystal was like. He chose one of the smaller shards for a test, so if he screwed up, he'd not have such a big waste of material.

He carefully tried to carve it, but once he touched the tool against the crystal shard, it shattered into millions of pieces. He blinked, wide eyes and shrank pupils. That was much harder than he had thought. He picked another small shard and nervously brought the tool closer to it. Again, the crystal became dust.

He sighed. He just couldn't do that, could he? He'd never be able to help Piper. He felt as if his heart was being squeezed inside his chest.

_'And don't ever give up.'_

No... He couldn't give up. He had said that if she needed him, he'd be there. And now he was going to prove his word. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He determinedly stared at the crystal shards and the tools. He picked up the largest of the shards.

"Third time is the charm." - he said quietly to himself as he smoothly hit a small pickaxe against the crystal.

* * *

After hours of hard work, carving and polishing the crystal shard, Aerrow had finally managed to get to the results he was looking for. He lifted the complete necklace above his head, smiling as the early morning sunlight shone through the skillfully carved blue crystal. It looked like it had been made by a professional! Who'd guess Aerrow had a hidden talent with jewelcrafting! He hadn't been able to sleep, but it was worth it. He didn't notice the soft glow the crystal gave off for a fraction of a second as he hid it in his pocket.

He quickly made it back to the camp, before the others noticed he was gone. The group packed up and headed to the docks that were behind the next hill. Once they reached the top, they stopped for a moment, glancing at the small port like area from afar.

"Well... I believe it's time we part ways now." - Piper said.

Her voice was noticeably shaken. She had grown to like the guys, and she didn't want to leave. But she didn't wish to cause them any trouble, so her decision had been made. The three looked at her in sympathy. Neither they felt like splitting up. At least, not at the moment. But they couldn't force her to go... Right?

"See ya, then, I guess?" - Finn muttered, waving quickly with one hand, but he still stood there, as if he were expecting something to happen.

Radarr churred sadly, his ears falling behind his head, seeming oblivious to what the blonde was on to. Aww... Why did it have to end like this? Why couldn't she come?

Aerrow remained silent, though. He had been waiting for something. For a chance.

"Good luck with your journey." - the girl said to him, upon noticing he didn't say a word, then offered her hand.

He shook his head, refusing to say goodbye.

"Piper, we're not going anywhere. Not without you." - he put it simply.

"But, Aerrow..." - she tried to convince him, but he dismissed whatever she was going to say.

"Like I said, you're already a part of the group. And we'd like you to come along." - he told her - "Don't you want that too?"

"Of course, I do... It was nice being with you guys. But I'll only get in the way." - she stared at the ground.

"I know that's not the real reason you're hesitating." - he told her, causing her to look at him - "You've been through a great loss recently, and you're afraid of suffering again."

She sighed. He was right on spot.

"Yes... I-I... I like you guys, I really do. But... I don't know what I'd do if... If I got too close to you and then... Something happened." - she stuttered.

Finn and Radarr shared glances. So she was very fond of them after all. She just didn't want to feel the pain of losing them. That was understandable, but the world wasn't only sadness, it had its happy quirks too.

"I know what it's like. I lost my family too. They were intercepted by the Cyclonians on their trip home a few months before the invasion on my terra. It wasn't that recently, but it still hurts." - the blonde confessed, then he smiled - "But after meeting you guys, I felt much better, because having good friends by your side makes up for the loss."

"And whatever happens, we'll all be there for each other." - the green eyed boy said reassuringly - "That's what friends are for."

The little animal nodded and approached the girl, rubbing his head against her hand. After all that, she beamed at them, a hand clenched in front of her heart.

"Yes... It is..." - she agreed with them.

"So, will you come with us? We could be our own new family." - Aerrow asked her.

Their inviting looks just made her feel welcome and cared about. There was no way she'd back away this time, so she nodded.

"Please, bear with me." - she said shyly.

"No problemo." - Finn commented - "Now we're finally settled. Let's go to the docks before the ship leaves."

He and Radarr proceeded to walk, the girl was about to follow them when Aerrow stopped her.

"Piper, just a sec." - he called her, which made her turn around to look at him again - "I wanna give you something."

He pulled out the necklace from his pocket and showed it to her. She blinked surprised, her hands flew to her mouth.

"Is that...?" - she asked.

"Yeah, it's one of the shards of your memory crystal. I couldn't put it back together again, so I did something else. I hope you won't mind." - he said as he handed her the jewel, and she shakily took it from him - "You reminded me of what it means to live. I just had to do something in return."

She could only look at him speechless as he continued.

"I want you to know that even if you lose someone important, you shouldn't think about the loss, remember the good times you spent together. Just like that crystal had a precious memory of your family." - Aerrow said - "I forgot mine because I had amnesia after I bumped into the white hawk when my home was invaded. I didn't want you to go through the same thing, so I had to give you a way to keep your memories. I couldn't fix the crystal, but I'm sure you can still remember them through this one shard."

She suddenly felt sorry for him and even guilty for ever saying he didn't feel for his family. It wasn't his fault he suffered amnesia. And he was right. She could feel the energy of her parents from that shard, even though the crystal itself didn't work. It was still a piece of her memory, a part of her. She stared at the carefully carved shard and felt warm inside: he had definitely put a lot of effort into making it.

The girl smiled softly. That was just the sweetest thing someone had ever done for her. He didn't even truly know her for that long and yet he was showing he cared about her as if they had been best friends for ages... And not only that, he was encouraging her to move on and cherish her life with the people she cared for. He was encouraging her to love again. Her eyes were almost tearing up. She couldn't contain her happiness.

"Can I...?" - she asked him.

Before he could even muster an answer, she already threw her arms around his neck, closing in on a brief hug. He almost jumped, caught off guard. Then he couldn't help but return the embrace. She actually clung onto him, she was really in need of that kind of comforting touch after months of being utterly alone in such a depressing state. It had been easier for him due to the amnesia, but she remembered her loss like it was super fresh, so she had a lot to deal with. As for him, for the first time in years, his heart actually felt warm and full of feelings again. And it would remain that way from then on.

"Thank you..." - she said while a couple tears fell down her cheeks - "For being the best friend in the world."

He grinned widely as they let go of each other, then she tied the necklace around her neck. She glanced at him expectantly and he nodded approvingly, letting her know the jewel suited her perfectly.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" - she said excitedly as she proceeded to walk ahead.

She reached Finn and Radarr and placed an arm around the blonde's shoulders, pulling him closer for a moment and causing him to blink rather surprised with that sudden joyful behavior of hers, but smile nonetheless. Shortly after, she moved away to pick the furred creature up. She spun around with him once, nuzzling him playfully, then put him back down as she sprinted ahead, urging both to come along faster. The little animal chirped happily and ran after her. Aerrow was about to follow them when Finn stopped him after having noticed something different about her.

"So... When's the wedding? And, do I get to be the best man?" - he teased as he nudged him - "I mean, a necklace, dude? You're making it too easy for me to win that bet, it's not even fun." - he crossed his arms grinning mischievously.

"You know that's not what I meant..." - the green eyed boy trailed off, hoping she hadn't heard that. Things had been hard enough as they were, he didn't need her to start feeling awkward around him now. And for the wrong reasons on top of that!

"Hey, I'm just messing with you." - he gave him a light punch in the arm - "For now, at least."

Aerrow smiled. Both of them went after the other two, who were far ahead already. They met up near the area of the docks, but they didn't go there just yet. They hid behind some trees and observed. There were a few people loading many crates on the carrier ship. The ship was old, almost falling apart. Finn, Piper and Radarr cringed a little at that, but Aerrow just looked determined. No matter what, that ship was their way out, and it'd have to do. They waited until the staff headed for the bridge.

"Okay, let's move." - the red haired boy said.

The four sprinted off, dashing from a pile of crates to another, stealthily making their way to the cargo hold. They hid among a few crates as they saw some more of the crew walking nearby. The men grabbed more supplies and went back to the cargo hold.

"I think we better go around them." - Piper suggested.

"Yeah, they're always coming back here, so we can't keep going this way." - Finn commented.

They all walked around the several piles of crates, approaching the end of the dock. They were right behind the ship when they saw the men walking away.

"That's our chance." - the girl warned them.

But before they could get out of their hiding place, the cargo hold's gate closed and the boosters were activated, blowing a big heat wave at them. They managed to withstand the hot wind, and they realized the ship was starting to fly away!

"That's it..." - Aerrow said quietly - "Jump!" - he turned to Piper, rushing her.

She blinked surprised but did as she was told. She sprinted to the edge of the dock and leaped, landing smoothly on her feet on the platform on the side of the ship. Radarr soon followed her. But Finn was hesitating a little.

"Okay, okay... I can do this... Just one sec." - the blonde almost panicked.

"C'mon, Finn! We don't have time for this!" - the green eyed boy said as he ran for it and grabbed his wrist, dragging him along.

The two jumped, the blonde screaming like a girl. Because Aerrow had to pull the other boy with him, they didn't get as far as they should, so they almost didn't make it, hadn't Piper and Radarr intervened to help them. The girl and the little animal managed to get a hold of the red haired teenager's arm, and they quickly pulled the two boys to the platform.

"That... Was close!" - Finn panted a lot.

"Next time I'm gonna push you already..." - Aerrow glared at the blonde impatiently.

"Guys, we should get inside." - Piper drew their attention - "It's cold out here." - she rubbed her arms, and Radarr shivered behind her.

They entered the ship through a hatch, then ran by the corridors towards the cargo hold. Once they got inside it, they settled down near the only window in the room.

"Can't believe we're finally going somewhere." - the blue eyed boy rested his back against the wall.

Then his face fell, something Piper noticed. And she also noted neither Aerrow nor Radarr seemed to be excited. Or at least, that's what it looked like.

"Hey, cheer up, guys. We're moving. And we're absolutely free!" - she said positively.

But then she realized there was something going on when their seemingly blank faces became expressions of horror. She frowned a little as she turned to look at the direction they were staring at. Oh, no... She saw through the window the ship was heading straight into a mega storm!

The kids screamed as the flying cruiser flipped in the air over and over, tossing everyone inside around like ragdolls. They were lucky to find handrails to hold onto, or they'd have been knocked out for sure.

"What's going on?! Why did we fly right into the storm?!" - Aerrow asked.

"I don't know. Is this ship on auto-pilot or something?" - Finn shrugged cluelessly.

"I don't think so, there was a crew here. And now I don't hear anyone anymore." - the girl said.

"You don't think they've bailed out, do you?" - the blonde was almost regretting asking that.

"Maybe they have. Or something else happened. We should go check it out." - Piper suggested.

"Yeah, but let's pull this ship away from the storm first." - the green eyed boy said - "Follow me."

They climbed towards the hatch that led to the internal structure of the hull. From there, they made their way to the back of the ship, so they could have access to the tiller. The four pushed against it with all their might. Boy, was that thing heavy! At least, it felt heavy because of the intense wind. After a lot of effort, they managed to get the helm to turn to one side, causing the ship to turn around and fly away from the area of the storm.

"We made it!" - the girl cheered as they all panted a little.

"Alright. Let's see what happened here." - Aerrow said.

They got back to the internal structure of the hull and crawled all the way to the bridge, then peered through the hatch.

"It's empty!" - Finn commented.

"But why would they suddenly leave the ship like that?" - Piper wondered.

Then, a loud explosion from outside the ship caused them all to be thrown out of the hull and into the bridge, through the hatch. The girl had the fall cushioned by the two boys, and Radarr fell on her lap. She smiled sheepishly at them as she stood up.

"What was that?" - the blonde asked.

"Well, I'd say _that_ is what made the crew run away!" - the redhead pointed somewhere.

The others followed his finger and saw a huge Cyclonian battleship chasing them through the window. Another shot from the enemy ship's canon made the carrier cruiser shake.

"Oh, man! Why are they after this piece of junk?" - Finn complained.

"We were in Cyclonian territory just a minute ago, it's only natural they'll go after any ship that could be carrying something of interest." - the blue haired girl explained.

"But there's nothing important here!" - he kept mumbling.

"It doesn't matter now. We gotta find a way to defend ourselves." - Aerrow told them.

"Well, this ship doesn't have any kind of weaponry, and its hull can't stand that much damage." - the girl said - "I doubt we can outfly them either. It's just an old cargo ship, it can't go that fast."

"Great... We just got our one way tickets to hell." - the blonde simply wouldn't stop lamenting their own demise.

Radarr rolled his eyes in annoyance at that.

"We'll manage to get away. I have a plan." - the green eyed boy said - "See if there's anything in the cargo hold we can use as a diversion. I'll pilot us out of here."

Piper, Finn and Radarr nodded and went to the cargo hold. The three searched for anything that could be useful.

"Hey, I found a slug gun!" - the blonde shouted as he picked up the huge toy.

"That's not even a weapon..." - the girl commented - "We should find something that could give us cover."

"It's a gun, so it'll be enough. I can do wonders with _any_ kind of gun." - the boy boasted about his abilities.

Piper rolled her eyes and shook her head. That boy just didn't know what they were up against, did he? She looked around some more until she found a few crystals inside a crate. There were four rainbow smokers, one eruption stone and a blazer.

"I think this will do." - she smiled.

She gathered the crystals, then had Radarr help her tie up the smokers with the eruption stone using a wire he found near the crate, then she grabbed that pack and the blazer and both headed to the bridge. Finn was already there, holding the slug gun and looking ready to shoot at something.

"And you said this thing was useless, look what I just did." - the blonde said as Piper entered the room.

She looked out the window and saw one of the Cyclonian ship's canon was completely obstructed by a lot of slime, causing it to malfunction and no longer shoot. She blinked.

"Well, that's surprising." - she admitted, then she turned to the red haired boy who piloted the ship - "Aerrow, can you open the solar roof?"

"Sure. What have you got?" - he asked.

"The diversion." - she told him as she threw the pack of crystals to the sky - "Finn, load this in your gun and hit that target."

She handed the blazer to him and he loaded it in the toy. He aimed for a moment and shot, hitting the pack squarely in the middle. It exploded into a huge cloud of colorful smoke that grew larger and larger extremely fast because of the eruption stone.

"Perfect cover!" - Aerrow complimented his friends.

He sped up the cargo ship and tried to get away from the battle cruiser. However, even with the smoke cloud, they didn't have much luck. A shot coming from the enemy ship managed to hit the engine room and destroy it.

"Oh, c'mon! They got us in a blind shot?! Really?!" - the blue eyed boy said in disbelief.

Talk about having bad luck! The ship shook and started to fall.

"This isn't good, we're losing altitude too fast!" - the redhead told them.

"Aerrow, look!" - the girl shouted, drawing his attention - "There's a small terra nearby!"

"I'll try to land there." - he said.

Finn and Radarr exchanged glances and immediately ran to the cargo hold. When they got there they waited until the ship hovered very close to the small land, then they opened the door of the storage compartment, causing all the cargo to fall on the terra. That made the ship a little lighter and easier to maneuver. But even with their help, things didn't get much better, because soon the boosters gave up, since the engine room had been severely damaged, and the ship could no longer be piloted properly.

"We won't make it back to the terra!" - Piper commented as the boy and the animal got to the bridge.

"We'll have to abandon ship!" - Aerrow said to them as they all ran to the landing gear.

The green eyed boy pressed a button that opened the ground below them and exposed the wheels of the ship. They saw the terra coming closer quite fast, they were about to glide past it. Piper froze at that, and the boys noticed, so they grabbed her arms and the three jumped together, Radarr following suit.

They fell on the grass and rolled down a small hill. The ship kept falling and disappeared in the clouds. Luckily, the Cyclonian ship didn't notice them and when the cargo ship had sunken, they just left the area. The kids stared at the enemy ship flying away and sighed in relief.

"Dude... I can't believe we made it!" - Finn said excitedly.

Man, did it feel good to be free again! Piper giggled at that, and the two boys smiled. Then, a flash of light startled them for a second: it was Radarr, who had taken a picture of them.

"Great! You found a camera, Radarr." - Aerrow grinned as he glanced around the small piece of land - "We should record this. We escaped the Cyclonians and found our new home!"

"This little chunk of terra is a home?" - the blonde asked.

"Well, it's not like we can leave anymore. We don't have any skyrides or a ship." - the girl told him - "We'll have to make do here. Besides, at least there aren't storms in this area."

"Yep. And no Cyclonian will come looking for us in here, this terra is too small to notice and we're not in their territory anymore." - the green eyed boy said while he picked Radarr up so he'd be on the same height as him with the camera - "This is perfect. C'mon, you two, line up now."

"You're taking pictures already?" - she laughed as she put a hand on Finn's shoulder - "But we didn't even build a house or anything yet."

"Yeah, man. There's nothing to take a picture of in our tiny piece of empty Terra Neverlandis." - Finn said as he put his hands on his hips and shook his head a little.

"Neverlandis? That's a nice name." - Aerrow thought about it for a moment after he and the little animal took a picture of them.

Piper grabbed the camera from Radarr to stare at the photo while he settled on the redhead's shoulder. She took the chance to take a picture of them, since the boy felt like recording their arrival there. The kids walked closer to a big tree, the only thing other than grass in that ridiculously small terra. They looked at it, thinking of what they were going to do.

"We could use what was left of the cargo to build a fortress around the tree." - the girl suggested.

"Great idea! Let's start right away." - the red haired boy said.

Finn headed to the pile of material when Radarr signaled to Aerrow and Piper and pointed the camera at them. The boy put a hand on the girl's shoulder and waved, both smiling at the camera as they got a photo of them taken. Then the three went after the blonde, who had already picked up quite a few tools.

Yep, they should come up with a photo album too, and record all their new adventures in it, because from then on, they were free, they were a family and they had a home, somewhere where they could feel like they belonged to, at long last. But little did they know that the future held a lot in store for them, much more than anything they had ever imagined. Their journey had just begun.

 

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**NEXT EPISODE:**

**Episode 63** (parts 1, 2, 3 and 4)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick notice here, this story takes a while to update because I usually update 4 chapters at a time (1 whole episode).
> 
> And, right now, my spare time is very scarce because I've been needing to help my family, so I'm going through a course to try to get a new job again. My course will be over in the middle of December this year, so by then I'll try to focus more on updating this story as often as I can.


	43. Quick Notice - ep 63 and more

Quick edit: the episode is currently in progress and I intend to release it in February, in a certain specific day. You'll know why the moment the episode is up. ;)

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Hi, everyone. A quick notice here.

I've paused the writing of episode 63 to write episodes 77 and 78 (the two last episodes) so that I can leave them finished early in order to slowly polish them while I keep on writing the rest of the story, like I did with episode 62, which I had actually written 2 years and a half prior to the date I uploaded it.

It's also a way to show that I have a compromise with this story and that I do intend to finish it, regardless of how long it takes.

Yet, I'll give you all a brief spoiler free summary of episode 63 (which I was already writing before):

_After Piper stabilizes a strange crystal left behind by Kaya, things aren't the same on the Condor anymore._

Can't tell you anything more because it'll spoil too much, just know that this next one will be focused on humor. I hope I'll finish the episode next year, since the last 3 months of this year will be very busy for me, but I always find some time to keep on slowly writing the story. From next year onward, though, I'll have a little more free time so I'll try to update faster.

When I release ep 63, this chapter here will be changed into ep 63 - part 1, and 3 new chapters will be uploaded as parts 2, 3 and 4. So when I next update the story, don't forget to read this same chapter again.


	44. Very serious, bad news...

OTHER UPDATE:

My father is at the hospital again...  
  
I've had to stay at home in case he'll need someone to stay with him for the night. But the situation is very grave. The doctors will check if the aneurysm might have burst. If it did, then he'll have to be rushed to surgery, and it'll be all or nothing...

 

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UPDATES:

1

The doctors now said the risk of death during surgery was almost 100%, so it might be better to try to just keep things under control as much as possible without surgery.

He'll come back home, he'll have to quit smoking for good this time, try to keep his blood pressure stable and try to live as healthy and carefully as possible. Every few months they'll make him go through exams to monitor the aneurysm's progress.

They'll only opt for surgery if the aneurysm expands even more or if the risk of bursting becomes way too high. By then, it would be indeed an all or nothing last effort to try to save him.

~~~

2

My dad is out of the hospital now.

But now he'll have to live the rest of his life with a time bomb inside him...

Even if he takes very good care of himself, the doctors can't tell if the condition could still worsen.

Basically, he didn't die today, but he could drop dead at any moment without warning...

Life will be very hard from now on, and we'll never be able to do anything without being worried about him.

 

* * *

 

 

Hey, guys.

I have some terrible news.

My father is at the hospital, he's been there since Thursday because of a very grave aneurysm.

It appears the aorta portion from the middle of the thorax to the end of the abdomen has expanded to 7 centimeters in diameter (which is over 3 times the maximum size it should ever have), so it has a huge risk of bursting.  
The doctors said surgery would be ideal, but even then it's an extremely high risk surgery because the affected portion contains the beginning of the arteries that send blood to the kidneys, liver, etc.  
They can't try catheterization because the arteries that send blood to the legs are all clogged due to my father's high cholesterol and the fact he smokes a lot, which also contributes to the clogging of the arteries.  
Besides all that, my father also has high blood pressure problems AND he's gone through a coronary artery bypass surgery 10 years ago due to clogging his arteries near the heart before, so these things further complicate the situation.

These last 2 nights I spent awake at the hospital, monitoring my dad in case something could happen. I'll be spending all nights with him while he's there.

So, yeah, I guess I highly unlikely will be able to deliver the next episode in the date I wanted, which was Feb 14th. It was a romance and humor themed episode, that's why I wanted to release it on Valentine's Day so much. But right now, with my dad at the hospital in a situation in which he could potentially die in the next few days... I just don't have the mind to write anything.

 

I don't like saying very personal things... But I thought you should know the reason I won't be able to update so soon. Well, I'll be going to sleep now so that I can spend this night with my dad again. Here's hoping for the best...


	45. Another note

Well, I've gone back to slowly writing the next episode. I can't just catch a break from life, so I might as well keep on writing...

Since it was a romance themed episode, I think it makes sense for me to close my pairing poll once the episode is up, so I'll warn it here now.

Here's the link for the poll: [PAIRING POLL](https://www.deviantart.com/123leyang321/journal/Which-pairings-do-you-want-to-appear-in-my-story-372081898)

If you want to vote but don't have an account on DeviantART or on fanfiction.net, you can just comment here and I'll add the votes. Same rules from DeviantART apply.


	46. Grave, bad news... Again

My father is at the hospital again...

I've had to stay at home in case he'll need someone to stay with him for the night. But the situation is very grave. The doctors will check if the aneurysm might have burst. If it did, then he'll have to be rushed to surgery, and it'll be all or nothing...


	47. Worse news

Just got news from the hospital. The aneurysm is starting to burst. My father will have to go for surgery.  
It's a very risky surgery, over 90% mortality rate... But if he doesn't go for it, he'll die too.  
I'm going to the hospital now. Pray for the best.


	48. Unfortunate News

...

 

My father has passed away...

 

He survived the surgery until the end, but a couple hours after, his heart was just too weak and he couldn't make it.

 

It was yesterday morning, we just had the funeral and buried him today. I literally just got home.

 

My only consolations are that he died asleep, so he didn't feel anything, and he looked very serene, that he didn't end up crippled (which was very likely considering how risky was the procedure, and I know that would really have broken his heart), and that at least he'll now be able to finally meet his dad (my grandpa died when my dad was 5 years old).

 

I told a story in my [journal on deviantart.](https://www.deviantart.com/123leyang321/journal/I-m-back-News-and-a-long-story-689312194)  

I put that trophy I won in that competition, which I had dedicated to my dad, in his hands so it would be buried with him. I thought he should have it more than anything, it meant much more than some flowers (though, of course there were tons of flowers with beautiful messages on them).

 

I won't tell many details about what happened, it's just too heartbreaking to bear, even for anyone that is not even from our family.

 

Well... I'll be away for a while to grief and recover from this. Thank you everyone for your prayers, I'm sure my father was very happy with it.


End file.
